What horticultural practice involves selectively removing parts of a plant?

Pruning is the horticultural practice that involves selectively removing parts of a plant, such as branches, stems, or leaves. This practice serves several important purposes, including encouraging healthy growth, shaping the plant, controlling its size, and removing dead or diseased plant material. Pruning can enhance flowering or fruiting by allowing more light to reach the inner branches and by promoting better air circulation. It also helps maintain the overall health of the plant by preventing the spread of pests and diseases. This targeted removal allows for a more robust and aesthetically pleasing plant structure, making pruning a vital technique in horticulture.

In contrast, grafting involves joining two different plant parts to grow as one, weeding focuses on removing unwanted plants, and harvesting is the process of collecting mature crops. Each of these practices plays a role in horticulture but does not specifically involve the selective removal of plant parts in the same manner as pruning does.