Importance of Horticultural Crops

1. Nutritional Importance

• Horticultural crops are rich source of carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins, minerals and fats
• Consumption of fruits and vegetables is good for human health and can solve malnutrition problem

2. Economic importance

• From a unit area of land, more income is obtained by growing horticultural crops than agronomical crops
• Horticultural produce not only fetch high price during off season but are also highly profitable during normal season
• Many industries have been developed and in operation because of the availability of horticultural crops. These also create job opportunities
• For fruit cultivation, comparatively inferior land can be used profitably
• Nutritionist have mainly focused on fruits and vegetables in the balance diet of individual
• The diseases like scurvy, beri beri, night blindness etc are associated lack of vitamins in the diet

3. Medicinal importance

• Many horticultural crops possess a wide range of medicinal values
• The liquid endosperm of tender (young) coconuts can be prescribed for diarrhea and vomiting
• Avocado is a high energy fruit for diabetic patient as it contains low sugar

• Amala fruit is useful for bronchitis, jaundice.
• Consumption of vitamin A and vitamin B rich vegetables and fruits avoid night blindness, berry berry, etc

The proverbs about the importance of horticulture commodity in literature:

“An apple a day keeps the doctor away”

“Two cloves of garlic a day keeps the doctors away”

4. Industrial importance

• Many horticultural crops acts as principle raw materials for industries
• For instance,

Grapes: wine and juice industries

Orange: juice

Potato: chips

Mango: juice and pickles

Tomato: ketchup

5. Cultural and religious importance

• Many fruits, vegetables and flowers are used in different cultural and religious ceremony of Nepalese people
• Without fruits and flower religious ceremony of hindu are incomplete
• Some examples:

Bel fruit marriage of Newar society

Arecanut used to invite people in different ceremony

Walnut used in Tihar (Bhai tika)

Fruits like orange, banana and apple used to worship god and goddess

6. Aesthetic importance

• Fruits trees, flowers and ornamentals plants are used to beautify the environments of home, hospitals, school and college, industrial areas, business complex, office, road/highways etc
• For instance

Fruit trees: coconut, areca nut, mango steen, mandarins etc

Ornamentals plants: Goldmohar, ashoka, palm, silver oak etc

Flowers : both annual and perennial flowers

7. Ecological importance

• Horticultural plants have heavy foliage
• During photosynthesis these plants consume CO 2 and release O 2 in the environment
• Horticultural plants have also role control of noise pollution in the urban areas
• Horticultural crops also help in proper and timely raining

8. Soil conservation

• Some horticultural plants have deep root system which prevents the soil from wind and rainfall
• The residue of ornamental plants also adds organic matter to the soil

9. Other importance

• Timber, fire wood and grass from fruits trees
• Many ornamentals plant and flowers are demanded in hospitals and in public places for therapy to delineate mental and other problems