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What is Agriculture?
Agriculture is the science, art and industry of managing the
growth of plants and animals for use by humans. In general,
agriculture includes soil cultivation, growing and harvesting
crops, raising and breeding livestock, dairy, and forestry (Crop
Farming, Animal Husbandry, Dairy Farming, Forestry, Poultry
Farming, Soil Management).
Modern Agriculture
Engineering and technology is heavily utilized in modern
agriculture. Biological and physical sciences are also advancing
agricultural production. Fields requiring specialized knowledge
of agricultural engineers includes, but not limited to
Irrigation, Drainage, Conservation, and Sanitary Engineering.
One area of agriculture where plant production is advancing
rapidly is Hydroponics; a method for growing plants' without
soil - Usually in an inert media such as Rockwool and fed
re-circulated, Oxygen and nutrient rich water solution.
Because Hydroponics is not dependent on soil, this advance plant
cultivation method will allow people in extremely dry regions
like parts of Africa, for example, to cultivate plants for food
and other resources. Hydroponics may also increase food
production -a concern for the growing population.
Plant genetics and breeding offers great benefits to farm
productivity. Genetics has also turned livestock breeding into a
science.
Agricultural Chemistry
Agricultural chemistry is associated with other important
farming concerns like fertilizer application, insecticides or
pest control, fungicides, soil composition, agricultural
products analysis, and nutritional requirements of farm animals.
Packaging, Processing & Marketing
Science has also revolutionized the way we pack, process and
market agricultural products. For example, dehydration and
quick-freezing have increased farm products' markets (Food
Processing, Preservation, Meat Packing).
Technology
Agriculture used to be a laborious task and still is, however,
late 19th- and 20th century technological advancement has
simplified much of the backbreaking toil of farming. Moreover,
mechanization (Agricultural Machinery) has greatly increased the
efficiency and productivity of farming.
Although agriculture has evolved and advanced in many ways,
Animals like horses, llamas, alpacas, oxen and dogs are still
utilized on farms to cultivate and harvest crops, till, and
transport products to markets in many parts of the world.
Computers have also become an important agricultural management
tool. Hydroponics and Greenhouse cultivation are two examples of
agriculture that generally involve computers for managing
lighting, feeding, temperature and pH.
Aerial Application
In the U.S. airplanes and helicopters are often used in
agriculture for seeding and spraying applications for insect and
disease control, transporting perishable goods, and for
controlling forest fires.
Communications
Television and radio have played a vital role in agriculture by
providing important weather reports and market reports - both of
which are concerns for most farmers.
About the author:
Article Courtesy of HydroponicSearch.com - The Agriculture Search
Engine & Educational Community.
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