What is Agricultural Science?

Information about Agricultural Science

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A soil scientist measures and records corn growth and other processes.


Agricultural science is a broad multidisciplinary field 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.)

Agriculture and agricultural science

The two 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 agriculture.
Agricultural sciences include research and development on:
  • 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)
  • 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, sometime 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 greater than that of industrial agriculture, which in 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 and the USA.

Agricultural science: a local science

With the exception of theoretical agronomy, research in agronomy, more than in any other field, is strongly related to local areas. It can be considered a science of ecoregions, because it is closely linked to soil properties and climate, which are never exactly the same from one place to another. Many people think an agricultural production system relying on local weather, soil characteristics, and specific crops has to be studied locally. Others feel a need to know and understand production systems in as many areas as possible, and the human dimension of interaction with nature.

History of agricultural science

Main article: History of agricultural science


Agricultural science is seen by some to have began with Mendel's insightful genetic work, but in modern terms might be better dated from the chemical fertilizer outputs of plant physiological understanding in eighteenth century Germany. Today it is very different from what it was even in 1950. Intensification of agriculture since the 1960s in developed and developing countries, often referred to as the Green Revolution, was closely tied to progress made in selecting and improving crops and animals for high productivity, as well as to developing additional inputs such as artificial fertilizers and phytosanitary products.

As the oldest and largest human intervention in nature, the environmental impact of agriculture in general and more recently intensive agriculture, industrial development, and population growth have raised many questions among agricultural scientists and have led to the development and emergence of new fields. These include technological fields that assume the solution to technological problems lies in better technology, such as integrated pest management, waste treatment technologies, landscape architecture, genomics, and agricultural philosophy fields that include references to food production as something essentially different from non-essential economic 'goods'. In fact, the interaction between these two approaches provide a fertile field for deeper understanding in agricultural science.

New technologies, such as biotechnology and computer science (for data processing and storage), and technological advances have made it possible to develop new research fields, including genetic engineering, agrophysics, improved statistical analysis, and precision farming. Balancing these, as above, are the natural and human sciences of agricultural science that seek to understand the human-nature interactions of traditional agriculture, including interaction of religion and agriculture, and the non-material components of agricultural production systems.

Prominent agricultural scientists

Agricultural science and agriculture crisis

Agriculture sciences seek to feed the world's population while preventing biosafety problems that may affect human health and the environment. This requires promoting good management of natural resources and respect for the environment, and increasingly concern for the psychological wellbeing of all concerned in the food production and consumption system.

Economic, environmental, and social aspects of agriculture sciences are subjects of ongoing debate. Recent crises (such as Avian Flu, mad cow disease and issues such as the use of genetically modified organisms) illustrate the complexity and importance of this debate.

Fields or related disciplines

See also

External links

References

Cox, P.G., GC Jahn, and S. Mak 2001. Doing it together means doing it better (Sometimes): the case for organizational change in agricultural R&D. pp. 287-298, In S. Suthipradit, C. Kuntha, S. Lorlowhakarn, and J. Rakngan [eds.] “Sustainable Agriculture: Possibility and Direction” Proceedings of the 2nd Asia-Pacific Conference on Sustainable Agriculture 18-20 October 1999, Phitsanulok, Thailand. Bangkok (Thailand): National Science and Technology Development Agency. 386 p.

Cox, Peter, Numa Shams, Gary C. Jahn, P. Erickson and P. Hicks. 2002. Building collaboration between NGOs and agricultural research institutes. Cambodian Journal of Agriculture 6: 1-8.[1]

Cox, P., S. Mak, G. C. Jahn, and P. Mason 2000. Agricultural R&D for development in Cambodia: where the buck stops (starts). Proceedings of the 44th meeting of the International Society for Systems Sciences held in Toranto , Canada, July 16-22, 2000. CDROM

Keith Fuglie, Nicole Ballenger, Kelly Day, Cassandra Klotz, Michael Ollinger, John Reilly, Utpal Vasavada, and Jet Yee. 1996. Agricultural Research and Development: Public and Private Investments Under Alternative Markets and Institutions, Agricultural Economics Report No. (AER735) 88 pp
The social sciences are a group of academic disciplines that study human aspects of the world. They diverge from the arts and humanities in that the social sciences tend to emphasize the use of the scientific method in the study of humanity, including quantitative and qualitative
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Agriculture (from Agri Latin for ager ("a field"), and culture, from the Latin cultura "cultivation" in the strict sense of "tillage of the soil". A literal reading of the English word yields "tillage of the soil of a field".
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Veterinary medicine is the application of medical, diagnostic, and therapeutic principles to companion, domestic, exotic, wildlife, and production animals. Veterinary science
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Animal science is described as "studying the biology of animals that are under the control of mankind" ( [1] Historically the animals studied were farm animals but courses available now look at a far broader area to include companion animals for example dogs, cats, horses
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Agriculture (from Agri Latin for ager ("a field"), and culture, from the Latin cultura "cultivation" in the strict sense of "tillage of the soil". A literal reading of the English word yields "tillage of the soil of a field".
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Agronomy is a branch of agricultural science that deals with the study of field crops and grassland management and the soils in which they grow. It involves the production of food products from farming, the production of animal feed and fiber crops.
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The phrase research and development (also R and D or, more often, R&D), according to the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development, refers to "creative work undertaken on a systematic basis in order to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of
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Irrigation is the artificial application of water to the soil usually for assisting in growing crops. In crop production it is mainly used to replace missing rainfall in periods of drought, but also to protect plants against frost.
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3, 5, 4, 2
(strongly acidic oxide)
Electronegativity 3.04 (Pauling scale)
Ionization energies
(more) 1st: 1402.3 kJmol−1
2nd: 2856 kJmol−1
3rd: 4578.1 kJmol−1

Atomic radius 65 pm
Atomic radius (calc.
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Agricultural productivity is measured as the ratio of agricultural inputs to agricultural outputs. While individual products are usually measured by weight, their varying densities make measuring overall agricultural output difficult.
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drought is an extended period of months or years when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply. Generally, this occurs when a region receives consistently below average precipitation. It can have a substantial impact on the ecosystem and agriculture of the affected region.
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worldwide view.
A pesticide is a substance or mixture of substances used for preventing, controlling, or lessening the damage caused by a pest.[1] A pesticide may be a chemical substance, biological agent (such as a virus or bacteria), antimicrobial,
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Cell culture is the process by which either prokaryotic or eukaryotic cells are grown under controlled conditions. In practice the term "cell culture" has come to refer to the culturing of cells derived from multicellular eukaryotes, especially animal cells.
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Heterotroph.


Consumers refers to individuals or households that purchase and use goods and services generated within the economy. The concept of a consumer is used in different contexts, so that the usage and significance of the term may vary.
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Dairy products are generally defined as foodstuffs produced from milk.They are usually high-energy-yielding food products. A production plant for such processing is called a dairy or a dairy factory.
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Soils retrogression and degradation in the French school of pedology are two regressive evolution processes associated with the loss of equilibrium of a stable soil. Retrogression is primarily due to erosion and corresponds to a phenomenon where succession reverts back to pioneer
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Waste management is the collection, transport, processing, recycling or disposal of waste materials, usually ones produced by human activity, in an effort to reduce their effect on human health or local aesthetics or amenity.
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Bioremediation can be defined as any process that uses microorganisms, fungi, green plants or their enzymes to return the environment altered by contaminants to its original condition.
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Theoretical production ecology tries to quantatively study the growth of crops. The plant is treated as a kind of biological factory, which processes light, carbon dioxide, water and nutrients into harvestable parts.
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Subsistence agriculture (also known as self sufficiency in terms of agriculture) is a method of farming in which farmers plan to grow only enough food to feed the family farming, pay taxes or feudal dues, and perhaps provide a small marketable surplus.
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Industrial agriculture is a form of modern farming that refers to the industrialized production of livestock, poultry, fish, and crops. The methods of industrial agriculture are technoscientific, economic, and political.
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Theoretical production ecology tries to quantatively study the growth of crops. The plant is treated as a kind of biological factory, which processes light, carbon dioxide, water and nutrients into harvestable parts.
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An ecoregion (ecological region), sometimes called a bioregion, is the next smallest ecologically and geographically defined area beneath "realm" or "ecozone". Ecoregions cover relatively large area of land or water, and contain characteristic, geographically distinct
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Climate is the average and variations of weather over long periods of time. Climate zones can be defined using parameters such as temperature and rainfall.
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SOiL is a five-piece Hard Rock band from Chicago, Illinois, United States. They formed in 1997 and are still active. They are signed to DRT Entertainment and have released four albums, their most recent being True Self which was released in March 27 2006.
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Agronomy and the related disciplines of agricultural science today are very different from what they were before about 1950. Intensification of agriculture since the 1960s in developed and developing countries, often referred to as the Green Revolution, was closely tied to
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Fertilizers (also spelled fertilisers) are compounds given to plants to promote growth; they are usually applied either via the soil, for uptake by plant roots, or by foliar feeding, for uptake through leaves.
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Plant physiology is a subdiscipline of botany concerned with the function, or physiology, of plants.[1] Closely related fields include plant morphology (structure of plants), plant ecology (interactions with the environment), phytochemistry (biochemistry of plants), cell
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Anthem
"Das Lied der Deutschen" (third stanza)
also called "Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit"
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