Agricultural science

Agricultural science is a broad multidisciplinary field of biology that encompasses the parts of exact, natural, economic and social sciences that are used in the practice and understanding of agriculture. (Veterinary science, but not animal science, is often excluded from the definition.)

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Agriculture, agricultural science, and agronomy

The three terms are often confused. However, they cover different concepts:

  • Agriculture is the set of activities that transform the environment for the production of animals and plants for human use. Agriculture concerns techniques, including the application of agronomic research.
  • Agronomy is research and development related to studying and improving plant-based crops.

Agricultural sciences include research and development on:[1][2]

  • Plant breeding and genetics
  • Plant pathology
  • Horticulture
  • Soil science
  • Entomology
  • Production techniques (e.g., irrigation management, recommended nitrogen inputs)
  • Improving agricultural productivity in terms of quantity and quality (e.g., selection of drought-resistant crops and animals, development of new pesticides, yield-sensing technologies, simulation models of crop growth, in-vitro cell culture techniques)
  • Minimizing the effects of pests (weeds, insects, pathogens, nematodes) on crop or animal production systems.
  • Transformation of primary products into end-consumer products (e.g., production, preservation, and packaging of dairy products)
  • Prevention and correction of adverse environmental effects (e.g., soil degradation, waste management, bioremediation)
  • Theoretical production ecology, relating to crop production modeling
  • Traditional agricultural systems, sometimes termed subsistence agriculture, which feed most of the poorest people in the world. These systems are of interest as they sometimes retain a level of integration with natural ecological systems greater than that of industrial agriculture, which may be more sustainable than some modern agricultural systems.
  • Food production and demand on a global basis, with special attention paid to the major producers, such as China, India, Brazil, the US and the EU.
  • Various sciences relating to agricultural resources and the environment (e.g. soil science, agroclimatology); biology of agricultural crops and animals (e.g. crop science, animal science and their included sciences, e.g. ruminant nutrition, farm animal welfare); such fields as agricultural economics and rural sociology; various disciplines encompassed in agricultural engineering.

Agricultural biotechnology

Agricultural biotechnology is a specific area of agricultural science involving the use of scientific tools and techniques, including genetic engineering, molecular markers, molecular diagnostics, vaccines, and tissue culture, to modify living organisms: plants, animals, and microorganisms.[3]

Fertilizer

One of the most common yield reducers is because of fertilizer not being applied in slightly higher quantities during transition period, the time it takes the soil to rebuild its aggregates and organic matter. Yields will decrease temporarily because of nitrogen being immobilized in the crop residue, which can take a few months to several years to decompose, depending on the crop's C to N ratio and the local environment.

History

In the 18th century, Johann Friedrich Mayer conducted experiments on the use of gypsum (hydrated calcium sulphate) as a fertilizer.[4]

In 1843, John Lawes and Joseph Henry Gilbert began a set of long-term field experiments at Rothamsted Research Station in England; some of them are still running.[5]

In the United States, a scientific revolution in agriculture began with the Hatch Act of 1887, which used the term "agricultural science". The Hatch Act was driven by farmers' interest in knowing the constituents of early artificial fertilizer. The Smith-Hughes Act of 1917 shifted agricultural education back to its vocational roots, but the scientific foundation had been built.[6] After 1906, public expenditures on agricultural research in the US exceeded private expenditures for the next 44 years.[7]:xxi

Prominent agricultural scientists
Norman Borlaug, father of the Green Revolution.

See also
  • Agricultural Research Council
  • Agricultural sciences basic topics
  • Agriculture ministry
  • Agroecology
  • American Society of Agronomy
  • Genomics of domestication
  • History of agricultural science
  • Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences
  • International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development
  • International Food Policy Research Institute, IFPRI
  • List of agriculture topics
  • National FFA Organization
  • Research Institute of Crop Production (RICP) (in the Czech Republic)
  • University of Agricultural Sciences

References
  1. Bosso, Thelma (2015). Agricultural Science. Callisto Reference. ISBN 978-1-63239-058-5.
  2. Boucher, Jude (2018). Agricultural Science and Management. Callisto Reference. ISBN 978-1-63239-965-6.
  3. "What is Agricultural Biotechnology?" (PDF). Cornell University. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 February 2015. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  4. John Armstrong, Jesse Buel. A Treatise on Agriculture, The Present Condition of the Art Abroad and at Home, and the Theory and Practice of Husbandry. To which is Added, a Dissertation on the Kitchen and Garden. 1840. p. 45.
  5. "The Long Term Experiments". Rothamsted Research. Archived from the original on 27 March 2018. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
  6. Hillison J. (1996). The Origins of Agriscience: Or Where Did All That Scientific Agriculture Come From? Archived 2 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine. Journal of Agricultural Education.
  7. Huffman WE, Evenson RE. (2006). Science for Agriculture. Blackwell Publishing.

Further reading
  • Agricultural Research, Livelihoods, and Poverty: Studies of Economic and Social Impacts in Six Countries Edited by Michelle Adato and Ruth Meinzen-Dick (2007), Johns Hopkins University Press Food Policy Report[1]
  • Claude Bourguignon, Regenerating the Soil: From Agronomy to Agrology, Other India Press, 2005
  • Pimentel David, Pimentel Marcia, Computer les kilocalories, Cérès, n. 59, sept-oct. 1977
  • Russell E. Walter, Soil conditions and plant growth, Longman group, London, New York 1973
  • Salamini, Francesco; Özkan, Hakan; Brandolini, Andrea; Schäfer-Pregl, Ralf; Martin, William (2002). "Genetics and geography of wild cereal domestication in the near east". Nature Reviews Genetics. 3 (6): 429–441. doi:10.1038/nrg817. PMID 12042770.
  • Saltini Antonio, Storia delle scienze agrarie, 4 vols, Bologna 1984–89, ISBN 88-206-2412-5, ISBN 88-206-2413-3, ISBN 88-206-2414-1, ISBN 88-206-2415-X
  • Vavilov Nicolai I. (Starr Chester K. editor), The Origin, Variation, Immunity and Breeding of Cultivated Plants. Selected Writings, in Chronica botanica, 13: 1–6, Waltham, Mass., 1949–50
  • Vavilov Nicolai I., World Resources of Cereals, Leguminous Seed Crops and Flax, Academy of Sciences of Urss, National Science Foundation, Washington, Israel Program for Scientific Translations, Jerusalem 1960
  • Winogradsky Serge, Microbiologie du sol. Problèmes et methodes. Cinquante ans de recherches, Masson & c.ie, Paris 1949
  1. Agricultural research, livelihoods, and poverty | International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) Archived 26 June 2010 at the Wayback Machine
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