Principles of Horticultural Physiology

Horticulture is a multidisciplinary field that integrates biochemistry, physics, plant physiology and aesthetics in a field that involves all aspects of farming and even human nutrition. Durner, who is director of the Student Sustainable Farm at Rutgers, presents a technical overview of the field here intended as a reference for professionals and students in the field. Mathematical descriptions of many aspects of plant growth and development are presented in detail along with appropriate graphs. Quite a bit of detailed physics as applied to plants is brought into the discussion where appropriate. The first chapter is a review of the basics of botany, plant anatomy, and horticultural terms. Subsequent chapters go into further details about cultivated plants: water, temperature and light requirements; plant hormones; growth and development; stressors; growth in roots, stems, and leaves; growth in flowers, fruit, and seeds; use of greenhouses, and the ecology, structure, modification, and chemistry of soils. There are several chapters on the control of the plant life cycle from seeding and seedlings to pruning, training, grafting and the use of rootstocks. Harvesting and post-harvest physiology each get a chapter towards the end. The book closes with a chapter on human nutrition and its relationship to horticulture. There is a moderate number of b&w photos, graphs and schematic diagrams of important concepts throughout. Dist. in U.S. by Stylus Publishing. Annotation ©2013 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)