Horticulture and Soil Science Glossary, Exams of Gardening and Horticulture

Download Horticulture and Soil Science Glossary and more Exams Gardening and Horticulture in PDF only on Docsity! Louisiana Landscape Horticulture A-M Exam Questions with Verified Solutions. 1. Acid Soil - ANS Soil with a pH of less than 7.0. Agricultural lime is used to raise the pH and correct a very acid soil condition. 2. Acre - ANS A land containing 43,560 square feet and measuring approximately 210' x 210' square 3. Actual - ANS The part of the formula of any product, containing several ingredients, which refers to a specific ingredient. For example, a 5-pound box of a general purpose plant food (10-10-10) would have 10% nitrogen, 10% phosphate and 10% potassium. 10% of 5lbs is 1/2lb. Therefore, the actual content of the three major ingredients in the mixture is 1/2 lb. each. 4. Adventitious Root or Shoot - ANS Produced on stem tissue after removal from the mother plant. These tissues developed on cuttings are identical to those found during seedling development. 5. Alkaline Soil - ANS Soil with a pH of more than 7.0. The pH of alkaline soils are reduced by the application of iron sulfate, aluminum or large amounts of sawdust, peat moss, or ground pine bark. 6. Annual Plant - ANS A plant living one year or less, usually planted in spring after the last frost and dying at time of killing frost. During this time, the plant grows, blooms, produces seeds and dies. 7. Anther - ANS The upper part of a stamen that produces pollen. 8. Apical Dominance - ANS The suppression of growth of lateral buds by the terminal bud of a stem. 9. Arboretum - ANS an area devoted to the display of a variety of living trees and shrubs for study and comparison. 10. Asexual - ANS Without sex; refers to reproduction not involving the fusion of gametes. 11. Axim - ANS A plant hormone that influences and regulates plant growth. 12. Balled and Bur lapped - ANS Plant prepared for transplanting by digging them so that the soil adjacent to the roots remains undisturbed; the ball of earth is then wrapped in burlap or similar mesh fabric. 13. Bare Root - ANS In the winter or early spring, many varieties of deciduous plants are sold with their roots bare. Dormant plants dug from the soil have their roots cleaned and trimmed, and are prevented from drying out until the time they should be planted. 14. Bedding Plants - ANS Refers to small plants sold in flats or packs. They may be planted in beds, borders or wherever desired. 15. Biennial - ANS A plant that produces a rosette of leaves the first year of its life, and sets flowers, fruit and seeds the second year and then dies. Ex: beet carrot, sweet William. 16. Binomial - ANS A system of naming plants using two names. First name is the genus and the second the species. Botanical or scientific name. 17. Biodegradable - ANS Any material than can be readily decomposed in the soil by the action of each microorganisms as bacteria and fungi. 18. Bolting - ANS The production of a seed stalk by vegetative plants such as ornamental cabbage, spinach, lettuce or radish. Bolting by vegetable crops is undesirable. Bolting usually occurs when days are long and temperatures are warm. 19. Broadcasting - ANS Scattering a material such as fertilizer or seed evenly over a soil surface. Microsoft account 1 20. Bud - ANS an embryonic stem tip bearing young leaves, one or more flowers or both leaves and flowers. 21. Bulb - ANS A bud, usually subterranean, consisting of a short, thick stem emitting roots from below and bearing overlapping, scale like leaves. 22. Caliper - ANS In landscape and nursery usage, the diameter of a tree measured six inches above the ground line if up to a four-inch caliper; larger caliper trees are measured twelve inches above the ground line. In forestry, the caliper is measured for and a half feet above ground line. 23. Cambium Layer - ANS The layer of actively dividing mass between the outer bark and the inner wood of woody plants. 24. Capillary Action - ANS The attraction of soil particles to water molecules, causing an up or downward movement of the water into the soil. Becoming popular in container watering. 25. Carbohydrate - ANS Any group of chemical compounds (including sugars, starches and cellulose) containing carbon, hydrogen and oxygen only. 26. Catch Crop - ANS A fast growing vegetable crop planted between rows of slow growing crops for best use of space. Also used during the period between harvest of early crops as in succession planting and intercropping. 27. Chelate - ANS several of the micronutrients such as iron may be prevalent in the soil but unavailable to the plant. When a chelating agent with the micronutrient is added, the nutrient element is made available to the plant. 28. Chlorophyll - ANS the green pigments in plants that absorb the energy of the sunlight. Used in the manufacturing of sugars from carbon dioxide and water. 29. Choruses - ANS Lack of green in a leaf, caused by nutritional failure or disease. It is most frequently caused by lack of a plant's ability to take up iron. In severe cases, the entire leaf except the veins turns yellow. Often there is enough iron in the soil, but it's not available to the plant. Lowering the soil pH or using a chelate with iron will help correct most chlorate conditions. 30. Clone - ANS A group of organisms derived from a single individual by asexual production 31. Clump - ANS An aggregate of crowns or roots, able to be easily divided or moved. 32. Cluster - ANS A bunching of flowers or leaves on a single stem. The term is sometimes given to any grouping of twigs, leaves, fruits or flowers. 33. Cold Accumulation - ANS The process in which certain plants cease active growth and develop the capacity to survive freezing temperatures 34. Cold Frame - ANS A box which is not artificially heated yet protects plants from the elements. It is usually covered with plastic, cheese cloth, or a glass sash. Typical dimensions are 4 foot wide with a 12 inch front and an 18 inch back. Length is determined by the number of plants to be accommodated. It should be constructed so that it is moveable and can be placed in the sun or shade depending on the season. 35. Common Name - ANS Plant name used by the general public, as distinguished from the botanical or scientific name. 36. Companion Crops - ANS Crops which have different harvest dates but are grown in the same area at the same time. One crop is harvested and removed by the time the other crop requires the growing space. 37. Compost - ANS A decomposing mixture of vegetative matter - leaves, grass clippings, weeds - which can be used to amend soils or as a fertilizer. Gardeners usually build a compost this way: first a 6 to 12 inch layer of vegetative matter, then an inch or so of soil. Decomposition is speeded up if a commercial fertilizer and lime are added. Microsoft account 2 76. Fertilization - ANS 1) The successful fusion of two sexually different plant cells to form the embryo of a seed capable of producing a new plant; 2) The application of fertilizer to soil. 77. Fertilizer - ANS A material which provides one or more mineral nutrients in forms which can be used by growing plants. The term generally refers to materials of organic or inorganic origin that are known to increase nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium when added to soil or dissolved in water. 78. Flower - ANS Usually a symmetrical form of colorful growth with the primary purpose of producing seed for plant reproduction. 79. Foliage Plant - ANS Plants grown especially for the beauty of it foliage as contrasted to those plants grown for flowers or fruit. 80. Frond - ANS The leaf of a palm tree or fern. 81. Frost - ANS Temperature below the dew point, causing freezing condition and a covering of minute ice particle on exposed objects. 82. Fumigant - ANS A chemical used in the form of a volatile liquid or gas to kill insects, nematodes, fun, bacteria, seeds, roots, rhizomes, or entire plants; usually released within an enclosure or in the soil. 83. Fumigation - ANS Applying chemicals or gases to control insects within an enclosed area or under a plastic cover. 84. Fungicide - ANS A chemical material used to retard or prevent the growth of fungi. 85. Genus - ANS Describing the classification of a related family of plants consisting of one or more species. 86. Germination - ANS the sprouting of a seed and the commencement of growth. Also used to mean the starting of plants from seeds. 87. Girdle - ANS Cambium growth around a wire or twine which has been tightly wrapped around the trunk, limb or roots of a plant. 2) A piece of bark that has been stripped from around a plant's trunk. 3) Circling roots can also girdle trees or shrubs and cause injury or death. 88. Grafting - ANS The process of joining a scion (shoot) into a stock so that cambium layers grow together and form a union of two plant parts. 89. Ground Cover - ANS Refers to both plants and inert material, used to cover areas to prevent soil erosion or to discharge the intrusion of undesirable plants. 90. Growing Medium - ANS Specifically formulated soil substitute prepared for growing plants. 91. Growing Season - ANS The period of time from the last plant-killing frost in the spring to the first plant killing frost in the fall. 92. Growth Regulators - ANS Any synthetic or natural organic compound such as indoleacetic acid, gibberellin, abscission, 2, 4-d, naphthalene acetic acid, etc. which in diluted amounts will promote, inhibit or modify plant growth practices; also called axons, plant hormones, and phytohormones. These hormones regulate leaf drop, root initiation, bud dormancy, bending of plants in response to light. 93. Guying - ANS Using cable, wire, rope, etc. to support a tree, usually following transplanting. 94. Hardening - ANS A process of slowing plant growth by withholding water, lowering the temperature, or gradually moving the plants from a sheltered environment. The process of hardening plants is used to increase chances for survival at transplanting time. 95. Hardy Plant - ANS The ability to resist frost damage; a plant which can be planted before the last killing frost in the spring. Microsoft account 5 96. Hardiness Zone - ANS Geographic areas representing the average low winter temperatures of the region; used in horticulture in respect to plant adaptability. 97. Heading Back - ANS Pruning a branch back to bud or side branch to make the plant bushier. 98. Heavy Soil - ANS A soil usually difficult to work; clay soils are considered to be heave soils. 99. Heeling in - ANS A method for storing plants temporarily by burying or covering their roots with materials such as pine bark mulch. 100. Herbaceous Plant - ANS A plant described as having a soft, nonfood stem. Generally, these plants live and grow for only one season. 101. Herbicide - ANS Chemical used to destroy undesirable vegetation. 102. Horticulture - ANS Art and science of growing fruits, vegetables and ornamental plants. 103. House Plant - ANS A plant that is tolerant of conditions in a house, where humidity and light levels are low and temperatures are high. 104. Humidity - ANS The water vapor content of the atmosphere. 105. Hybrid - ANS An offspring resulting from crossing related plants with different characteristics. 106. Hydroponics - ANS the growing of plants in water; nutrients must be added to provide for plant needs. 107. Indeterminate tomato - ANS The terminal bud does not set fruit. The vine can grow indefinitely if not killed by frost. Most of the cultivars trained on stakes or in wire cages are in this group. 108. Inflorescence - ANS A flower cluster; the characteristic arrangement of flowers on the stem. 109. Landscape Contractor - ANS A contractor specializing in work dealing with all phases of landscape installation. 110. Landscape Design - ANS A creative problem-solving process that organizes external space to attain an optimum balance of environmental and human needs. 111. Layering - ANS A propagating technique in which the stem of a plant is surrounded with a rooting medium in order to force the development of roots along the portion of stem. 112. Leaf - ANS a plant organ that manufactures food by chlorophyll. 113. Lime - ANS Ground limestone which is used to reduce the acidity of soils. Dolomitic lime has magnesium carbonate and will supply some magnesium for the growing plant. 114. Macronutrient - ANS certain chemical elements required in considerable abundance for the growth and survival of plants. Ex: nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium. 115. Meristem - ANS Embryonic or undifferentiated tissue; these cells are capable of active division. 116. Micronutrient - ANS Certain elements essential to the growth of plants, but required only in minute amounts. Example iron and copper. 117. Mildew - ANS A white cottony coating which later turns black. Caused by various fungi, especially during periods of warm days and cold nights. Microsoft account 6 118. Monoecism - ANS A plant that has separate male and female flowers on the same plant. 119. Morphactins - ANS Synthetic growth regulators used to slow the growth rate of turf grass and to pinch plants chemically to stimulate lateral shoots. 120. Mulch - ANS Any material applied to the soil surface to conserve moisture, maintain a more even soil temperature and/or aid in weed control. Microsoft account 7