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Home Fruit Planting.—Until the 20th century the history of fruit growing was the history of the home orchard, a local product raised for local consumption. The phenomenal growth of the fruit industry tends now to overshadow this past, and the fact that home planting, which for years was on the decline, is once again arousing interest and effort. The trend toward the decentralization of industry, the suburban movement, garden club activity as well as the interest in gardening stimulated during World Wars I and II have contributed to this end.

Fruit growing refers both to the technical knowledge of fruit culture and to the actual practice of producing fruit for human consumption. The popular conception of a fruit differs, however, from the botanist's more inclusive definition. To the botanist a fruit is the final or end product of any plant, not merely the tree or woody shrub. It is the portion of the plant associated with the flower in its development ; technically, an enlarged pistil or ovary.

The stamens, corolla, and sepals are borne on the rim of this cup. Such a situation is seen in the flower of the peach, plum, and cherry, but since this cup or "shuck" falls as the fruit develops, a true fruit results. In other cases of perigyny, as in the rose and strawberry, the receptacle is fleshy, persistent and an intimate part of the fruit, hence, such a fruit is said to be false or spurious.