Pomology

The science of the harvest that will not keep: how a fruit forms, ripens, stores and ships without rotting first. Ancient Mesopotamian and Egyptian growers already worked dates, grapes and figs, and Greek and Roman orchardists refined the grafting and cultivar selection modern pomology still builds on. The United States Department of Agriculture founded a dedicated Division of Pomology in 1886 under its first chief pomologist, Henry E. Van Deman, which catalogued fruit varieties in illustrated watercolors breeders still consult today. Pomology is the research branch; growing fruit at orchard scale for market is fruticulture, horticulture's applied twin. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/