Glossary of agriculture

This glossary of agriculture is a list of definitions of terms and concepts used in agriculture, its sub-disciplines, and related fields. For other glossaries relevant to agricultural science, see Glossary of biology, Glossary of ecology, and Glossary of botany.

A
agrarian system
The dynamic set of economic and technological factors that affect agricultural practices in a particular region.
agrarianism
A social or political philosophy which values rural society as superior to urban society and the independent farmer as superior to the paid worker. Agrarianism argues in favor of farming as a way of life that can shape ideal social values.
agribusiness
The business of agricultural production, including the entire range of activities and disciplines encompassed by modern food and fiber production chains and those agents and institutions which influence them.
agricultural aircraft
agricultural cooperative

Any association of farmers or agricultural businesses who voluntarily pool their resources in order to meet their common agricultural needs and goals by cooperating in a jointly owned enterprise. Agricultural cooperatives may be distinguished between "service" cooperatives, which provide inputs for agricultural production (seeds, fertilizers, fuels, etc.) or transportation and marketing services to members who run their farms individually, and "production" cooperatives, in which members run their farms jointly using shared land, machinery, or other resources; an example of the latter is collective farming.
agricultural economics
The branch of economics concerned with the application of economic theory in optimizing the production and distribution of food, fiber, and other products of agriculture.
agricultural engineering
agricultural extension
agricultural land
Any land devoted solely to agriculture, i.e. the deliberate and systematic reproduction of living organisms in order to produce commodities that can be used by humans. In the broadest sense, agricultural land may also include certain types of land which are used only partially or seasonally for agricultural purposes, such as pastures and wild forests. Colloquially, the term is often used interchangeably with farmland, cropland, and arable land, though these terms may also be considered technically distinct.
agricultural productivity
A measure of the economic productivity of a given quantity of agricultural land (or any other agricultural input), typically expressed as the ratio of agricultural outputs to agricultural inputs. In modern agricultural industries, "output" is often quantified as the market value of the agricultural product at the end of the production chain (i.e. immediately prior to its purchase by a consumer).
agricultural science
agriculture
The science and art of cultivating plants, animals, or other organisms in order to produce any of a variety of products that can be used by humans, most commonly food, fibers, fuels, and raw materials.
agritourism
agrobiology
The study of plant nutrition and growth, especially as a means of increasing crop yield.
agroecology
agroforestry
agrology
The branch of soil science concerning the production of crop plants. The term is often used interchangeably with agronomy, agricultural science, and agricultural soil science.
agronomy
The science and technology of producing and using plants for food, fuel, fiber, and land restoration.
algaculture
A specialized branch of aquaculture involving the cultivation of algae with the goal of producing any of a variety of products that can be used by humans, including food ingredients, fertilizers, colorants and dyes, pharmaceuticals, and chemical feedstock.
animal-free agriculture
apiculture

The maintenance of colonies of bees, commonly in man-made beehives, by humans for any of a variety of purposes, including collecting honey or other products created by bees, pollinating crops, and breeding bees for sale. A location where bees are kept is called an apiary and a person who practices apiculture is called an apiarist or beekeeper.
aquaculture

The cultivation of aquatic organisms, either freshwater or saltwater, including fish, crustaceans, molluscs, aquatic plants, and others, with the goal of producing any of a variety of products that can be used by humans. Branches of aquaculture include pisciculture, algaculture, and mariculture.
arable land
artificial selection

The process by which humans use animal breeding and plant breeding to selectively control the development of particular phenotypic traits in organisms by choosing which individual organisms will reproduce and create offspring. Artificial selection involves the deliberate exploitation of knowledge about genetics and reproductive biology in the hope of producing desirable characteristics in descendant organisms. It is widely practiced in agriculture, but it may also be unintentional and may produce unintended results.

B
biodynamic agriculture
A type of alternative agriculture which incorporates holistic ecological approaches and aspects of organic and integrated farming but also emphasizes various esoteric perspectives, including spiritual and mystical beliefs about nature. The efficacy of biodynamic agricultural techniques lacks scientific evidence, and the practice has been labeled a pseudoscience.
biofertilizer
biofuel
bioturbation
The mixing and turning of soil caused by organisms moving through the soil.[1]
broadacre
An expansive parcel of land suitable for farms practicing large-scale crop production. The term is used primarily in Australia.
broadcast seeding
browsing
A type of herbivory in which the herbivore feeds on leaves, soft shoots, or fruits of relatively tall, woody plants such as shrubs and trees, as opposed to grazing, which involves feeding on grasses and other low-lying vegetation. Browsing may also refer to feeding on any non-grasses, including both woody and herbaceous dicots.
bumper crop
Any crop that yields an unusually large or productive harvest.

C
cash crop

Any crop that is grown so that it can be marketed and sold for profit, as opposed to a subsistence crop, which is grown for the producer's own use. While historically cash crops have often been only a small part of a farm's total yield, almost all modern crops in developed nations are grown primarily for revenue.
catch crop
Any fast-growing crop that is grown between successive plantings of a primary crop on the same land. Its practice, known as catch cropping, is a type of succession planting.
center-pivot irrigation
cereal
Any grass cultivated for the edible components of its grain, composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran. The term may also refer to the resulting grain itself (the "cereal grain"). Compare pseudocereal.
chaff
chemigation

The practice of delivering any natural or synthetic chemical compound or mixture of compounds (such as fertilizers, pesticides, soil amendments, etc.) to crop plants via the water supply used for irrigation.[2]
chillcuring
citriculture
The cultivation of citrus fruit trees.
collective farming
combine harvester
companion planting
The practice of planting different crops in proximity for any of a number of different reasons, including as a means of controlling pests, aiding pollination, providing habitat for beneficial insects, maximizing the use of space, or otherwise increasing agricultural productivity. It is a type of polyculture.
compost
contract farming
Farming or other agricultural production carried out on the basis of an agreement between the buyer or consumer and the farmer or producer. Contracts typically involve the producer agreeing to supply certain quantities of a crop or other product according to quality standards and delivery requirements specified by the buyer, and the buyer agreeing to buy the product, often at a price that is established in advance; the buyer often also agrees to support the producer in various ways, e.g. by supplying inputs, assisting with land preparation, providing production advice, and helping to transport the finished product.
conventional tillage
coppicing
corporate farming
cover crop
Any plant that is planted as soil cover rather than for the purpose of being harvested. Cover crops may be used to manage soil erosion, soil fertility, water content, weeds, pests, agricultural diseases, and biodiversity on land that is repeatedly farmed. They are commonly off-season crops planted after harvesting a cash crop in order to help conserve the integrity of the land through a fallow period.
crop
Any plant, animal, or other product of a living organism that can be grown and harvested extensively for profit or subsistence. The term may refer to the organism or species itself, the harvested parts, or the harvest in a more refined state. Most crops are cultivated in agriculture and its sub-disciplines, most commonly (but not exclusively) as food for humans or fodder for livestock; other crops are gathered from the wild.
crop residue
crop rotation
The practice of cultivating a series of different crops in the same space over the course of multiple growing seasons, often in a specific sequence that repeats in a cycle every few seasons. The alternative to crop rotation, monocropping, may gradually deplete the soil of certain nutrients and select for highly competitive communities of pests and weeds, decreasing productivity in the absence of high volumes of external inputs such as fertilizers and herbicides. Crop rotation can reduce reliance upon these inputs by making better use of natural ecosystem services from a diverse set of crops, often improving soil quality and reducing the probability of pests and weeds developing resistances to control measures.
crop weed
crop wild relative (CWR)
cropdusting
crop-lien system
A farm financing scheme whereby money is loaned at the beginning of a growing season to pay for farming operations, with the subsequent harvest used as collateral for the loan.[3]
cultivation
The act of improving an area of land for or by agriculture, especially through the deliberate growing of plants (but not necessarily excluding other types of agriculture). Land upon which plants are sown, nurtured, or harvested, or more broadly any land dedicated to agricultural purposes, is said to be cultivated.
custom harvesting

D
deblossoming
dessert crop
Any crop that is (or historically was) grown or used only for special occasions, as an elite or luxury item, or for pleasure rather than sustenance. Examples of crops historically considered dessert crops include coffee, tea, sugar, cocoa, and tobacco.
domestication
drip irrigation
dryland farming

E
ecological sanitation
ecology
The scientific analysis and study of interactions between organisms and their environment. It is an interdisciplinary field that includes biology, geography, and Earth science.
energy crop
Any crop grown exclusively as a source of fuel for the purpose of energy production. Such crops are processed into solid, liquid, or gaseous biofuels (as with bioethanol and biogas) which are then burned to generate power or heat for human purposes.
environmental science
extensive agriculture

Any system of agricultural production that uses small inputs of labor, fertilizer, and/or capital relative to the land area used for production, in contrast to intensive agriculture.

F
factory farming
See intensive animal farming.
fallow
family farm
farm
An area of land devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food or other crops. In the broadest sense, the term may include ranches, feedlots, orchards, plantations, smallholdings and hobby farms, fish farms, and even industrial operations such as wind farms.
farm assurance
farm crisis
A period of economic recession for an agricultural industry, characterized chiefly by low crop prices and/or low incomes for farming operations.
farm water
farming
farmland
See agricultural land.
fed cattle
feed grain
Any cereal grain grown so that it can be used as fodder to feed animals, especially livestock. Corn, barley, and sorghum are commonly grown for this purpose.[2]
feedlot

A type of animal feeding operation, typically consisting of a densely concentrated area of enclosures or "pens" containing individual animals, used for the efficient raising, fattening, and finishing of numerous livestock prior to slaughter, especially beef cattle, but also swine, horses, sheep, and poultry.
fertilizer

Any natural or synthetic material that is applied to soil or to plant tissues to supply one or more nutrients essential to the growth of plants.
field
Any area of land, enclosed or otherwise, used for agricultural purposes, such as for the cultivation of crops or as a paddock for livestock.
field day
fish farming
See pisciculture.
floriculture

A branch of horticulture involving the cultivation of flowering plants and ornamental plants for gardens and landscaping as well as for commercial floristry.
fodder

Any agricultural foodstuff used to feed domesticated livestock, and more specifically food given to the animals directly (such as hay, straw, silage, and compound feeds), as opposed to that which they forage for themselves.
food chain
The chain of eating and getting nutrition which starts from a small herbivores animal and ends up at a big carnivorous organism.
food security
food systems
food-feed system
An integrated livestock-crop production system in which crops are harvested for human consumption and then the crop residues or byproducts are used as feed for livestock, often on the same or nearby agricultural land.
forage
Any plant material, especially leaves and stems, eaten by grazing livestock, especially that which is grazed by animals in pastures. In a looser sense it may also include fodder (plant material deliberately cut and given to animals as food).
forest farming
A practice in agroforestry involving the cultivation of high-value specialty crops under a forest canopy that is deliberately modified or maintained to provide habitat and shade levels which enhance crop yield. Most crops produced by such methods are non-timber forest products or niche crops such as ginseng and certain varieties of mushroom.
free range
fungiculture
The cultivation of fungi with the goal of producing any of a variety of products that can be used by humans, such as foods, medicines, or scientific research materials.
fur farming
furrow irrigation
A type of irrigation which relies on long, shallow, parallel channels, known as furrows, dug into the soil along the length of an agricultural field to deliver water to crops planted on the ridges between the furrows. Water is applied to one end of the furrows, which are aligned in the direction of the field's predominant natural slope, and flows down the furrows by gravity. Furrow irrigation is particularly suited to broadacre row crops such as cotton, maize, and sugarcane.

G
good agricultural practice (GAP)
Any collection of specific principles or methods applied by agricultural producers in order to create food or non-food products that are safe, healthy, and wholesome for consumers while also taking into account economic, social, and environmental sustainability. GAPs may be applied to a wide range of production systems and at different scales, and often vary with geographical context.
grain
Any small, hard, dry seed (with or without the outer shell or other parts of the fruit) that is harvested for human or animal consumption, or the plant from which these seeds are harvested. Crops considered grains include all cereals (such as maize, wheat, and rice) as well as pseudocereals (amaranth, buckwheat, quinoa), certain legumes (soybeans and lentils), and certain oilseed plants (rapeseed and flax).
grain elevator
grazing
green manure
A type of manure created by leaving uprooted or dehisced crop parts to wither and decay in an agricultural field so that they can serve as a mulch or natural fertilizer. Plants used for green manure are often cover crops grown specifically for this purpose; the mature plant tissues may be ploughed and mixed into the soil while green or shortly after flowering.
Green Revolution
greenhouse
growing season
The part of the year during which local weather conditions (i.e. temperature and precipitation) permit the normal growth of plants in a given location. Though the timing of plant growth and reproduction can vary widely by species, many local plant species show considerable phenological overlap, and so the term is commonly used to refer to a single generic season that encompasses a majority of the plants or crops growing in a given location. In many places, the local "growing season" is defined as the period of time between the average date of the last frost (in temperate parts of the Northern Hemisphere, this typically occurs in the spring or early summer) and the average date of the first frost (typically in the autumn).

H
harrow
harvest index
harvested acres
For a particular crop, the number of acres of cropland that are actually harvested, as opposed to planted but not harvested. At the national level, this statistic is usually lower than the total number of planted acres due to abandonment caused by weather damage or low market prices at some point during the growing season, or because the crop is repurposed for livestock grazing.[4]
harvesting
The process of gathering a ripe crop from an agricultural field. Harvesting is often the most labor-intensive activity of a growing season or utilizes the most expensive and sophisticated farm machinery. In general usage, the term may include immediate postharvest practices such as cleaning, sorting, packing, and cooling of the gathered crops.
hay
Grass, legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut, dried, and stored as fodder for animals, especially livestock.
haylage
hill farming
A type of extensive agriculture practiced in hilly, upland areas unsuitable for intensive management, typically involving the grazing of livestock and especially sheep.
honey wagon
See manure spreader.
horticulture
husbandry

I
industrial agriculture
integrated farming
intensive agriculture
intensive animal farming
intercropping
A type of multiple cropping involving the cultivation of two or more crops in proximity, usually with the goal of producing a greater yield within a given area of land by making use of resources or ecological processes that would otherwise not be utilized by a single crop.
irrigation
The application of controlled amounts of water to plants at needed intervals, especially for the purposes of growing agricultural crops, maintaining landscapes, or revegetating disturbed or drought-affected soils. Irrigation systems may also be used as a means of protecting crops from frost, suppressing the growth of weeds, preventing soil consolidation, cooling livestock, and controlling airborne dust.

L
land improvement
liming
livestock
Any domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting in order to produce labor and/or agricultural commodities such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. In certain contexts the term may be used more narrowly to refer exclusively to animals that are bred for consumption, or only to farmed ruminants such as cattle and goats; sheep, pigs, and horses are also often considered livestock, while poultry and fish are usually excluded.

M
manure
manure spreader
mariculture
A specialized branch of aquaculture involving the cultivation of marine organisms in the open ocean, enclosed sections of the ocean, or saltwater tanks or raceways, with the goal of producing any of a variety of products that can be used by humans, most commonly foods but also non-food products such as jewellery and cosmetics. Mariculture includes the farming of marine fish, shellfish, mollusks such as clams and oysters, and seaweed, among many other organisms.
mast
meadow
mechanized agriculture

The use of agricultural machinery to mechanize the work of agriculture, thereby substantially increasing the productivity of an agricultural operation. Modern mechanized agriculture may make use of tractors, combine harvesters, aircraft, computers, and satellite imagery, among other technologies.
mill
Any structure or device used to break solid materials into smaller pieces by grinding, crushing, or cutting.
minimum tillage
monocropping
monoculture
The practice of growing or raising a single crop or livestock species, variety, or breed on a particular area of land at a time. Contrast polyculture.
mulch
multiple cropping
The practice of growing two or more crops on the same area of land in the same growing season (as opposed to growing only one crop); the crops may be harvested at the same time or at different times. It is a form of polyculture. See also companion planting.

N
no-till farming
Any method of growing crops or maintaining pasture without disturbing the soil through tillage. Though soil tillage is widely practiced in modern agriculture, proponents assert that in certain contexts no-till or low-till techniques can increase the soil's retention of water and organic matter and reduce soil erosion.
nurse crop
Any annual crop plant used to assist in the establishment of a perennial crop. Nurse crops may help to reduce the incidence of weeds, prevent soil erosion, and shade the perennial crop's seedlings from excessive sunlight; often the nurse crop itself is harvested for a particular product.
nursery

O
orchard
Any intentional planting of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Most orchards are planted with a single variety of fruit- or nut-producing tree, and are often laid out in a regular grid with wide spacing and grazed or mown grass or bare soil between individual trees to make maintenance and harvesting easy.
orchardry
organic farming

P
pannage
pastoral farming
pastoralism
pasture
Any land used for grazing, especially enclosed tracts of farmland grazed by domesticated livestock such as horses, cattle, sheep, or swine. Pasture vegetation mainly consists of grasses and forbs and is typically grazed throughout the summer. Pasture is often distinguished from, but may in the broadest sense include, other agricultural land types such as meadows, rangelands, or other unenclosed pastoral areas.
permaculture
permanent crop
Any crop produced from a perennial plant which produces crops repeatedly over multiple seasons, rather than having to be replanted after each harvest.
pharming
pisciculture

The raising of fish in tanks, enclosures, or hatcheries with the goal of producing any of a variety of products that can be used by humans, most commonly food. It is a type of aquaculture.
plant breeding
plantation
plough
pollarding
polyculture
The practice of growing or raising more than one species, variety, or breed at the same time and place, often in imitation of the biodiversity of natural ecosystems. Contrast monoculture.
postharvest
poultry
precision agriculture
priming
produce
A generalized term used to refer to a variety of farm-produced food crops, usually including fruits and vegetables and sometimes also grains and other products, especially implying that such foods are fresh and generally in the same state as when and where they were harvested.
provender
See fodder.
pruning
pseudocereal
push–pull technology

R
raised-bed gardening
ranching
rangeland
Any grassland, shrubland, woodland, wetland, or desert area that is grazed by domestic livestock or wild animals. Rangelands are generally less intensively managed than pasture lands in that they are dominated primarily by native vegetation rather than by plants established by humans, and typically are not subjected to agricultural practices such as irrigation and the use of fertilizers.
ratooning
The practice of harvesting a crop plant (particularly a monocot species) by cutting most of the above-ground portion of the plant but leaving the roots and the shoot apices intact so as to allow the plant to recover and produce a fresh crop in a subsequent growing season. This procedure usually can be sustained only for a few seasons, as yield tends to decline with each season. Ratoon crops include sugarcane, pineapples, and bananas.
reaping
rotational grazing
row crop
Any crop that can be planted in rows wide enough to allow it to be tilled or otherwise cultivated by agricultural machinery specifically designed for that purpose. Such crops are generally sown by drilling rather than by broadcast seeding.

S
seed drill
seedbed

seeding
See sowing.
sericulture
The cultivation of silkworms with the goal of producing silk.
sharecropping
A type of agriculture in which a landowner allows a tenant to cultivate a portion of his or her land in return for a share of the crops produced on that land.
sharefarming
shifting cultivation
silage
silviculture
slash-and-burn agriculture
soil amendment

Any product which is added to soil to improve the soil's quality, especially its fertility and mechanics, either to make poor soils more usable or to maintain soils that are already in good condition. In the broadest sense, the term includes all organic and synthetic fertilizers and all other soil additives.
soil science
sowing

The process of distributing seeds (or any other type of propagule) of crop plants in or upon an area of fertile soil, either by hand or by mechanical methods. Sowing is one of the first steps in any seasonal agricultural operation.
spoilage
staple food

A food that is eaten routinely and in such quantities that it constitutes a dominant portion of a standard diet for a given population or demographic, supplying a large fraction of energy needs and generally providing a significant proportion of the basic nutrients needed for survival or health. Specific staple foods vary by location and culture, but typically are inexpensive or readily available foods that are suitable for storage over long periods of time without decay; examples include cereals, starchy tubers or root vegetables, meat, fish, eggs, and dairy products.
straw
stubble-mulching
The practice of leaving the stubble or crop residue essentially in place on a plot of cropland as a surface cover during a fallow period. Stubble-mulching can prevent soil erosion and conserve soil moisture.[4]
subsistence farming
sustainable agriculture
swather

T
tenant farmer
terrace
threshing
The process of loosening the edible part of a grain or other crop from the chaff to which it is attached, without removing the bran. In grain cultivation, threshing immediately follows reaping.
tillage
1.  The preparation of agricultural soil by any of various types of mechanical agitation, whether human-powered, animal-powered, or mechanised, such as digging, hoeing, raking, ploughing, and harrowing. In this sense, it is also referred to as tilling.
2.  The land that is tilled.
transhumance
trap crop
Any plant that is cultivated in order to attract the attention of agricultural pests, usually insects, and thereby distract them away from nearby crops. In small farms or gardens, this practice can help save the primary crop from decimation by pests without the use of pesticides.
tree farm

U
urban agriculture

V
vermiculture
vertical farming
viticulture

The cultivation of grapes, especially for use in winemaking.

W
water-meadow
wildculture
wind winnowing
windrow

X
xeriscaping
The practice of gardening or landscaping so as to reduce or eliminate the need for supplemental water from irrigation. Xeriscaping requires the selection of plants whose natural requirements are appropriate to the local climate, with a particular emphasis on water conservation, and focuses on designing and maintaining the land in such a way as to avoid losing water to evaporation and run-off.

Y
yield

See also

References
  1. "NAL Agricultural Glossary Search Results". Agricultural Thesaurus and Glossary, National Agricultural Library. United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
  2. "Farm World Agricultural Glossary". Farm World. MidCountry Media USA. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  3. Bureau of International Information Programs (IIP) (2008-06-26). "Glossary: An Outline of American Geography". america.gov. Washington, DC: United States Department of State. Archived from the original on 2008-06-26.
  4. "Agriculture: A Glossary of Terms, Programs, and Laws, 2005 Edition" [97-905] (PDF). CRS Report for Congress. Congressional Research Service. June 16, 2005.
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