Final answer:
Horticulture makes intensive use of labor, which involves various manual tasks such as clearing land and managing crops. While machinery and capital are also important, human labor is a crucial component in horticultural practices, especially compared to the machinery-driven intensive agriculture.
Step-by-step explanation:
Horticulture is a form of plant cultivation that relies heavily on labor for its operations. It involves a variety of manual tasks such as clearing land, tilling, sowing, watering, weeding, and harvesting crops. These tasks necessitate a great deal of human effort, making labor a critical component of horticultural practices.
While machinery and capital are also important, the intensive nature of horticulture often means that managing and caring for crops, as well as ensuring their growth and health, primarily rely on human labor. Given the detailed tasks such as pest control, nurturing young plants, and precise harvesting, the role of labor in horticulture is significant. It's also worth noting that the application of labor varies significantly in terms of physical demands and skills required.
The use of labor in horticulture can be contrasted with intensive agriculture, which may rely more heavily on machinery and technology to increase yields. Intensive agriculture is typically associated with larger-scale farming operations where machines like tractors and automated systems aid in the production process, reducing the reliance on manual labor. Nevertheless, even in these systems, labor is essential to operate machinery and oversee technological processes.