Agriculture Flashcards
characteristic of farmers or their way of life
Agrarian
the cultivation of domesticated crops and the raising of domesticated animals.
Agriculture
animals kept for some utilitarian purpose whose breeding is controlled by humans and whose survival is dependent on humans - differ genetically and behaviorally from wild animals.
Animal domestication
the cultivation of aquatic organisms (as fish or shellfish) especially for food.
Aquaculture
a crop produced for its commercial value rather than for use by the grower.
Cash crop
term used to describe large scale farming and ranching operations that employ vast land bases, large mechanized equipment, factory-type labor forces, and the latest technology.
Commercial agriculture
the practice of rotating use of different fields from crop to crop each year, to avoid exhausting the soil.
Crop rotation
the degradation of land, especially in semi-arid areas, primarily because of human actions like excessive crop planting, animal grazing, and tree cutting.
Desertification
the growing of two crops per year to double the harvest
Double cropping
changes made to the environment. e.g., the use of pesticides to grow crops and the effects it has on the soil and environment; soil erosion and desertification caused by changes made to the environment.
Environmental modification
use of little labor and capital to increase agricultural productivity.
Extensive agriculture
it dates back 10,000 years and is the shift from being primarily hunting and gathering societies to ones that planted crops for food.
First Agricultural Revolution (Neolithic Revolution)
the art, science, and practice of studying and managing forests and plantations, and related natural resources.
Forestry
the recent introduction of high-yield hybrid crops and chemical fertilizers and pesticides into traditional Asian agricultural systems, most notably paddy rice farming, with attendant increases in production and ecological damage.
Green Revolution
the period of each year when crops can be grown. It is usually determined by climate and crop selection
Growing season
the killing of wild game and the harvesting of wild plants to provide food in traditional cultures.
Hunting and gathering
expenditure of much labor and capital on a piece of land to increase its productivity.
Intensive agriculture
the clearing of rows in the field through the use of hoes, rakes, and other manual equipment.
Intertillage
non-subsistence crops such as tea, cacao, coffee, and tobacco
Luxury crops
dependence on a single agricultural commodity
Monoculture
the continual movement of livestock in search of forage for animals.
Pastoral nomadism
the cultivation of rice on a paddy or sawah, or small flooded field enclosed by mud dikes, practiced in the humid areas of the Far East.
Paddy rice farming
deliberately planted and tended by humans that is genetically distinct from its wild ancestors as a result of selective breeding.
Plant domestication
a system of monoculture for producing export crops requiring relatively large amounts of land and capital; originally dependent on slave labor.
Plantation agriculture
