Unit 5 Vocabulary Flashcards
Vocabulary terms 26-50
Genetically Modified Organisms
Refers to a crop whose genetic structure has been altered to make it more useful and efficient for human purposes. GMOs are
often controversial because some scientists claim that their health effects are questionable
Grain Farming
Farming of cereal grains such as grasses, corn, wheats, oats, and barley
Green Revolution
Umbrella term for agricultural improvements such as new agricultural technology, new high-yield seeds and fertilizers.
Increased production of food led to increased populations.
Horticulture
The intensive production of fruits and vegetables for market rather than for processing or canning (synonym for truck
farming)
Intensive Subsistence Agriculture
A form of subsistence agriculture that involves effective and efficient use of labor on small plots of land to maximize crop
yields. Popular in East, South, and Southeast Asia, because the ratio between farmers and arable land is so high, most of the
work is done by the family by hand or by animal with processes refined over thousands of years.
Intertillage
Subsistence practice of planting taller, stronger crops to shelter lower, more fragile ones from tropical downpours to mimic
the natural structure of the rainforest – often shifting cultivation
Irrigation
Water movement systems devoted to the hydration of crops, mainly on large scales today
Land Reclamation
The process of draining land inundated with either fresh or salt water to increase land available for agricultural production
Livestock Ranching
The raising of domestic animals for the production of meat and other byproducts such as leather and wool
Luxury Crops
High-priced, relatively rare crops which are not necessary for human survival.
Mediterranean Agriculture
Specialized farming that occurs only in areas where the dry-summer Mediterranean climate prevails.
Milkshed
The ring surrounding a city from which milk can be supplied without spoiling.
Mixed Crop and Livestock Farming
Crops are consumed directly by livestock instead of humans.
Monoculture
Dependence on a single agricultural commodity
Neolithic Revolution
The Neolithic revolution happened around 10000-12000 years ago. Humans transitioned from hunter gathering to farming.
This was the beginning of the agricultural/farming revolution
Organic Agriculture
Approach to farming and ranching that avoids the use of herbicides, pesticides, growth hormones, and other similar synthetic
inputs
Paddy
Malay word for wet rice, commonly but incorrectly used to describe a sawah.
Pastoral Nomadism
A form of agriculture where livestock are herded either seasonally or continuously in order to find fresh pastures on which to
graze.
Pasture
Grass or other plants grown for feeding grazing animals, as well as land used for grazing.
Pesticides
Chemicals used on plants to keep away pests such as bugs.
Plantation Farming
Production of usually one main cash crop (or often luxury crop) on a large swathe of land. It is most common in tropical
climates.
Primary Sector
Economic activity concerned with the direct extraction of natural resources from the environment.
Such as: mining, fishing, lumbering, and especially agriculture.
Prime Agricultural Land
The most productive farmland
Primogeniture
System which the eldest son in a family–or in exceptional cases daughter– inherits all of a dying parent’s land.
Quarternary sector
Service sector industries concerned with the collection, processing, and manipulation, of information and capital. Examples
include finance, administration, insurance, and legal services.
