- "Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, fisheries and forestry for food and non-food products." - "Farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to live in cities."
Crop production involves the study of how crops grow, including crop planning, planting, harvesting, and storage.
Soil Science: Understanding the composition, structure, and properties of soil is essential for successful crop production. It includes topics like soil texture, soil fertility, soil structure, soil water relationships, and soil management.
Plant Physiology: This involves the study of the internal functioning of plants and their mechanisms for growth, development, and reproduction. It includes topics like plant hormones, photosynthesis, respiration, and plant stress physiology.
Genetics and Plant Breeding: Crop production involves the genetic manipulation of plants to improve their yield, quality, and resistance to pests and diseases. It includes topics like plant genetics, plant breeding methods, genetic engineering, and biotechnology.
Crop Ecology: The relationships between crops and their environment affect plant growth, productivity, and quality. It includes topics like climatology, ecology, environmental science, and plant adaptation.
Crop management: This involves the cultural practices and interventions that are necessary to maintain the growth, quality, and productivity of crops. It includes topics like irrigation, fertilization, pest control, weed management, and crop rotation.
Agricultural economics: Understanding agricultural economics is essential for successful crop production. It includes topics such as market analysis, farming systems, global food systems, and socio-economic factors that impact crop production.
Agricultural machinery and equipment: Modern crop production requires the use of agricultural machinery and equipment for planting, harvesting, processing, and storage of crops. It includes topics like tractor operation, machinery maintenance, farm safety, and precision agriculture.
Soil and water conservation: Soil and water conservation practices help to maximize crop production while minimizing the impact of farming on the environment. It includes topics like soil erosion control, water conservation, and sustainable land management practices.
Crop protection: Pests, diseases, and weeds can significantly reduce crop productivity. Therefore, crop protection measures that safeguard against loss are critical for crop production. It includes topics like Integrated pest management, insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, and biological control.
Entomology and Plant Pathology: Identifying and managing pests and diseases that can damage crops is a crucial aspect of crop production. It includes topics like insect identification, disease diagnosis, and management of plant pathogens.
Livestock production: Livestock production is an essential component of modern agriculture. It includes topics like animal husbandry, feedlot management, animal genetics, and veterinary science.
Agricultural policy and regulations: Government policies, regulations, and laws play a crucial role in crop production. It includes topics like agricultural policy, food safety, and agricultural law.
Field crops: Producing crops on large-scale fields, including cereals, oilseeds, and pulses.
Horticulture: Production of fruits, vegetables, and flowers.
Floriculture: Growing and harvesting flowers, including cut flowers and potted plants.
Viticulture: Production of grapes for wine-making.
Forestry: Growing trees for harvesting timber and other forest products.
Aquaculture: Cultivation of aquatic organisms such as fish, mollusks, and crustaceans.
Apiculture: Beekeeping for honey and other products.
Sericulture: Production of silk.
Medicinal plants and herbs: Cultivation of plants used for medicinal purposes.
Seed farming: Producing seeds for growing crops.
Greenhouse production: Growing crops in a controlled environment.
Mushroom farming: Cultivation of mushrooms.
Livestock farming: Production of meat, dairy, and other animal products.
Biodynamic farming: A type of organic farming that incorporates spiritual and mystical beliefs.
Intensive farming: Highly efficient farming methods used for high yields, such as using pesticides and fertilizers.
Organic farming: Farming that avoids the use of synthetic chemicals and focuses on sustainability.
Precision agriculture: Using technology to optimize crop production and resource management.
Urban agriculture: Growing crops and raising livestock in urban areas.
Agroforestry: A sustainable land-use system that combines agriculture and forestry.
Permaculture: A philosophy of designing sustainable agriculture ecosystems.
- "Humans started gathering grains at least 105,000 years ago." - "Nascent farmers only began planting them around 11,500 years ago."
- "Sheep, goats, pigs and cattle were domesticated around 10,000 years ago."
- "Plants were independently cultivated in at least 11 regions of the world."
- "Today, small farms produce about a third of the world's food, but large farms are prevalent." - "The largest one percent of farms in the world are greater than 50 hectares and operate more than 70 percent of the world's farmland."
- "Nearly 40 percent of agricultural land is found on farms larger than 1,000 hectares."
- "Five of every six farms in the world consist of less than two hectares and take up only around 12 percent of all agricultural land."
- "The major agricultural products can be broadly grouped into foods, fibers, fuels, and raw materials (such as rubber)." - "Food classes include cereals (grains), vegetables, fruits, cooking oils, meat, milk, eggs, and fungi."
- "Global agricultural production amounts to approximately 11 billion tonnes of food, 32 million tonnes of natural fibers and 4 billion m3 of wood."
- "However, around 14 percent of the world's food is lost from production before reaching the retail level."
- "Modern agronomy, plant breeding, agrochemicals such as pesticides and fertilizers, and technological developments have sharply increased crop yields."
- "Selective breeding and modern practices in animal husbandry have similarly increased the output of meat, but have raised concerns about animal welfare and environmental damage."
- "Environmental issues include contributions to climate change, depletion of aquifers, deforestation, antibiotic resistance, and other agricultural pollution."
- "Agriculture is both a cause of and sensitive to environmental degradation, such as biodiversity loss, desertification, soil degradation, and climate change."
- "Genetically modified organisms are widely used, although some countries ban them." Please note that not every question has a direct quote corresponding to it. Some answers were derived from combining information from different parts of the paragraph.