The Botanical Garden of Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences, the Czech University of Life Sciences Prague (CULS) was built simultaneously with the whole complex of the University of Agriculture in Prague. The of Botanical Garden began operating on 1.1. 1968. The original name for the Botanical Garden was the Greenhouses of the Institute of Tropical and Subtropical Agriculture (ITSA). The Botanical Garden became a member of the Union of Botanical Gardens in 2011. On 1 January 2013, Institute of Tropics and Subtropics (ITS) became the Faculty of Tropical Agriculture (FTA), which resulted in the transformation of the Botanical Garden´s name. The Botanical Garden of the Institute of Tropics and Subtropics, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague was transformed into the Botanical Garden of the Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague.
The Botanical Garden was originally designed for Institute of Tropical and Subtropical Agriculture and Faculty of Agriculture. The Botanical Garden consisted of experimental, working and instructional areas. Over time, a specialized collection of crop plants from all over the world was formed. The subtropical greenhouse was the first planted greenhouse. Planted there were plants which required lower temperatures during the winter season (especially citrus fruits imported from the Crimea by prof. František Pospíšil). During the years 1972-1973 the first non-standard greenhouse was built. It contains a collection of thermophilic plants planted according to the plans of Prof. Pospíšil. Planting was carried out with the help of a team of scientists, teachers, technicians and manual workers. A comprehensive collection of crop plants from the tropics and subtropics, unique in Czechoslovakia, was created there. This collection was intended mainly for students from all over the world and associations of growers of tropical and subtropical plants. It was a this time that the Botanical Garden was opened to the public.
The original design of The Tropical Greenhouse planting
V roce 1972 začal tehdejší ITSZ vydávat Index seminum a pracoviště sbírkových skleníků tak začalo spolupracovat s československými i zahraničními botanickými zahradami. To znamenalo, že se napojilo formou inzerce vlastních sběrů semen na bezplatnou výměnu semen s ostatními světovými botanickými pracovišti. Tato spolupráce výrazně obohatila sortimenty hlavně jednoletých užitkových rostlin a také léčivých a technických rostlin.
Katedra rostlinné výroby ITSZ nutně potřebovala skleníkový prostor pro svoji vědeckou práci a pro umístění vzácnějších užitkových rostlin, a proto byl v roce 1975 vybudován stolový skleník.
Assoc. Prof. Michl during his lessons in The Table Greenhouse (1975)
Assoc. Prof. Hlava during his lessons in The Tropical Greenhouse (1975)
In 1972, ITSA published an Index seminum and began to cooperate with other Czechoslovak and foreign botanical gardens. Advertising their own seed collection, the Botanical Garden agreed to the free exchange of seeds with other botanical gardens all around the world. This collaboration greatly enriched its range of mainly annual crops and medicinal and technical plants.
The department of Crop Production ITSA required a greenhouse both for scientific work and to locate its collection of rare species, and a table greenhouse was therefore built in 1975.
At that time, annual thermophilic crops, especially cereals, legumes, some less known vegetables and technical plants were grown in two plastic greenhouses which were not equipped with heating. The crop collection was extended with seeds of crops, brought by scientists from their business trips around the world. Another source of new seeds were research institutes all over the world (mainly gene banks). Included in the Botanical Garden was an experimental field where less well-known vegetables and plants used for students experiments were grown .
Until 1982, the Head of Greenhouses was Mrs. Alena Rozinková. Mrs. Gabriela Struhárová, MSc. was Head of Greenhouses for less than a year. From 1982 to 1985 the Gead of Greenhouses was Mrs. Marie Hlaváčová. In 1985 Zdeněk Hlaváč, MSc. replaced Mrs. Hlaváčová. Up until 1989, world agriculture was taught exclusively to foreign students. During the nineties the composition of the student body changed, with a growing majority of Czech students. In the Botanical Garden teaching is carried out not only for students of the FTA but also for students of the other faculties of the CULS Prague (Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology and the Faculty of Environment).
The Botanical Garden is subdivided according to the temperature requirements of the plants and working methods into:
Tropical Greenhouse, Subtropical Greenhouse, Table Greenhouse, Lysimetric Greenhouse, Mixed Greenhouse, Plastic Greenhouses, Medicinal Plants.
The Tropical and Subtropical Greenhouses are open to the public.
