Reviewer in Ic4 East was the site of the earliest planned sowing

and harvesting of plants that

What is Agriculture?
had previously been gathered in the wild.
Agriculture comes from the Latin word’s ager, agri Independent development of agriculture
meaning field and cultura meaning growing, occurred in northern and
cultivation. Therefore, it means “growing and southern China, Africa's Sahel, New Guinea,
cultivating of the field.” Agriculture is the science or and several regions of the Americas. Barley has
practice of farming which includes the cultivation of been found in archeological sites in Levant, and
the soil for the growing of crops and fruit-bearing East of the Zagros Mountains in Iran.
trees. It also considers the raising of animals to
provide food and other raw materials which can
produce another product.
Elements in the Definition of Agriculture

 It is a science, because of systematically

organized body of knowledge which not only
based on opinions,hypothesis, and theories but
on factual and absolute knowledge.
 Also, it is a practice because of the actual
applications of the ideas. Of farming, because
is the act or process of working the ground,
planting seeds and growing edible plants.
 it can also include raising animals for milk,
The eight so-called Neolithic founder crops of
meat, and wool.
agriculture includes emmer wheat, einkorn
VALUE OF AGRICULTURE wheat, hulled barley, peas, lentils, bitter vetch,
chickpeas and flax. Bitter vetch and lentils
 Agriculture has a vital role in the life and along with almonds and pistachios appear in
progress of an economy. It does provide food Franchetti Cave Greece simultaneously, about
which is the basiccneeds of mankind, not only 9,000 BC. Neither was native 11 to Greece, and
to sustain food and raw material but also they appear 2,000 years prior to domesticated
employment opportunities to a vast number of wheat in the same location. This suggests that
the population of a country. the cultivation of legumes and nuts preceded
 It can be a source of livelihood which can
contribute to micro and macro community,
supplying and sustaining food and fodder that
are the basic necessities of human to live,
promoting the diplomatic friendship facilitated
by trading system in local, national and
international arena, marketable surplus
products, source of saving of the entire national
budget and basis of the economic development
of a country.
 Without agriculture, the economy will be at high
risk to food security that may result into serious that of grain in some Neolithic cultures.
national problems. The effect may be adverse
or even worse. By 7,000 BC, small-scale agriculture reached
BRIEF HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE Egypt. From at least 7,000 BC the Indian
Agriculture was developed at least 10,000 subcontinents saw farming of wheat and barley,
years ago, and it has undergone significant as attested by archaeological excavation at
developments since the time of the earliest Mehrgarh in Balochistan.
cultivation. The Fertile Crescent of the Middle
 By 6,000 BC, mid-scale farming was
entrenched on the banks of the Nile. About this
time, agriculture was developed independently
in the Far East, with rice, rather than wheat, as
the primary crop. Chinese and Indonesian
farmers went on to domesticate taro and beans
including mung, soy and azuki. To complement
these new sources of carbohydrates, highly
organized net fishing of rivers, lakes and ocean
shores in these areas brought in great volumes
of essential protein. Collectively, these new
methods of farming and fishing inaugurated
human population boom dwarfing all previous
expansions, and it continues today.
By 5,000 BC, the Sumerians had developed core
agricultural techniques including large scale
intensive cultivation of land, mono-cropping,
organized irrigation, and use of a specialized labor
force, particularly along the waterway now known
as the Shatt al-Arab, from its Persian Gulf delta to
the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates.
Domestication of wild aurochs and mouflon into
cattle and sheep, respectively, ushered in the large-
scale use of animals for food/fiber and as beasts of
burden. The shepherd joined the farmer as an
essential provider for sedentary and semi-nomadic
societies. Maize, manioc, and arrowroot were first
domesticated in the Americas as far back as 5,200
BC. The potato, tomato, pepper, squash, several
varieties of bean, tobacco, and several other plants
were also developed in the New World, as was
extensive terracing of steep hillsides in much of
Andean South America. The Greeks and Romans
built on techniques pioneered by the Sumerians but
made few fundamentally new advances. Southern
Greeks struggled with very poor 12 soils, yet
managed to become a dominant society for years.
The Romans were noted for an emphasis on the
cultivation of crops for trade.
Middle Ages
During the Middle Ages, Muslim farmers in
North Africa and the Near East developed and
disseminated agricultural technologies including
irrigation systems based on hydraulic and
hydrostatic principles, the use of machines and the
use of water raising machines, dams, and
reservoirs. They also wrote location-specific
farming manuals, and were instrumental in the
wider adoption of crops including sugar cane, rice,
citrus fruit, apricots, cotton, artichokes, aubergines,
and saffron. Muslims also brought lemons,
oranges, cotton, almonds, figs and sub-tropical
crops such as bananas to Spain. The invention of a
three-field system of crop rotation during the Middle
Ages, and the importation of the Chinese-invented
moldboard plow, vastly improved agricultural
efficiency. Another important development
towards the end of this period was the
discovery and subsequent cultivation of
fodder crops which allowed over-wintering of
livestock.
Modern Era
After 1492, a global exchange of previously
local crops and livestock breeds occurred. Key
crops involved in this exchange included the
tomato, maize, potato, cocoa and tobacco going
from the New World to the Old, and several
varieties of wheat, spices, coffee, and sugar cane
going from the Old World to the New. The most
important animal exportations from the Old World to
the New were those of the horse and dog (dogs
were already present in the pre-Columbian
Americas but not in the numbers and breeds suited
to farm work). Although not usually food animals,
the horse (including donkeys and ponies) and dog
quickly filled essential production roles on western
hemisphere farms.
By the early 1800s, agricultural techniques,
implements, seed stocks and cultivated plants
selected and given a unique name because of its
decorative or 13 useful characteristics had so
improved that yield per land unit was many times
seen in the Middle Ages. With the rapid rise of
mechanization in the late 19th and 20th centuries,
particularly in the form of the tractor, farming tasks
could be done with a speed and on a scale
previously impossible.
These advances have led to efficiencies enabling
certain modern farms in the United States,
Argentina, Israel, Germany, and a few other nations
to output volumes of high-quality produce per land
unit at what may be the practical limit.
 The Haber-Bosch method for synthesizing
ammonium nitrate represented a major
breakthrough and allowed crop yields to overcome
previous constraints. In the past century agriculture
has been characterized by enhanced productivity,
the substitution of labor for synthetic fertilizers and
pesticides, selective breeding, mechanization,
water pollution, and farm subsidies.
Haber-Bosch was the first industrial chemical
process to use high pressure for a chemical
reaction. It directly combines nitrogen from the air
with hydrogen under extremely high pressures and
moderately high temperatures
In recent years there has been a backlash against
the external environmental effects of conventional
agriculture, resulting in the organic movement.
Agricultural exploration expeditions, since the
late nineteenth century, have been mounted to find
new species and new agricultural practices in
different areas of the world.
BRANCHES OF AGRICULTURE
There are four main branches of agriculture,
namely.
1. Livestock Production or Animal Husbandry
2. Crop Production or Agronomy
3. Agricultural Economics
4. Agricultural Engineering
I. Livestock Production or Animal Husbandry
Animal Husbandry is the branch of
agriculture concerned with animals
that are raised for meat, fiber, milk, eggs, or other
products. The term "livestock" encompasses many
species and numerous breeds within animal
species which can produce food and other raw
materials.
Livestock production or Animal Husbandry has 4
common classifications such
as:
a) Nomadic Pastoralism is the husbandry of
grazing animals is viewed as an ideal way
of making a living and the regular
movement of all or part of the society is
considered a normal and natural part of life.
Pastoral nomadism is commonly practice
where climatic conditions produce seasonal
pastures but cannot support sustained
stationary agriculture because of the
animals’ food limitations.
b) Poultry Farming is the raising of birds
domestically or commercially,
primarily for meat and eggs as well as for
feathers. Chickens, turkeys, ducks, and
geese are of primary importance, while
guinea fowl and squabs (young pigeons)
are chiefly of local interest.
c) Swine Farming is the raising and breeding
of domestic pigs as livestock and is a
branch of animal husbandry. Pigs are
farmed principally for food (e.g., pork,
bacon, Hamon) or sometimes skinned
longganisa
d) Apiculture is the scientific method of rearing
honeybees. The word ‘apiculture’ comes
from the Latin word apis meaning bee and
colere which means “to culture”. Bees are
mainly reared for their honey. So, apiculture
or also known as beekeeping is the care
and management of honeybees to produce
honey and the wax.
In this method of apiculture, bees are bred
commercially in apiaries, an area where a
lot of beehives can be placed. Apiaries can
be set up in areas where there are sufficient
bee pastures – usually areas that have
flowering plants.
II. Crop Production or Agronomy
It is the science dealing with the
cultivation of crops and vegetables on a
field scales either under rain fed or irrigation
conditions. These crops are mainly annuals
cultivated food. The requirements of each
crop are studied in terms of soil and climate,
as well as planting time and techniques,
 different cultivars, fertilization, weed,
disease, and insect control, as well as the
effect of stress factors. Crop Production or
Agronomy includes:
Horticulture is the science and art of
growing and caring for plants, especially
flowers, fruits, and vegetables. The word is
derived from the Latin hortus which means
“garden” and colere which means “to
culture”. As a general term, it covers all
forms of garden management, but in
ordinary use it refers to intensive
commercial production. Horticulture has 3
branches namely, pomology, olericulture
and floriculture.
a. Pomology- is the branch of botany that studies
all fruits, specifically the science of growing
fruits and nuts. The word is derived from the
Latin pomum which means “fruit” and logia
which means “field of study”. As a branch of
horticulture, it focuses to the cultivation of fruits,
nuts, fruit bearing and nut-bearing trees/plants
for human use and consumption.
b. Olericulture is the science and art of vegetable
growing, dealing with the culture of non-woody
(herbaceous) plants for food. The word is
derived from the Latin oleris which means “pot
herb” and colere which means “to culture”. As
language develops over long period of time, it is
simply defined as the science and art of
growing vegetables crops. It deals with the
production, storage processing and marketing
of vegetables. It encompasses crop
establishment, including cultivar selection,
seedbed preparation and establishment of
vegetable crops by seed and transplants. It also
includes maintenance and care of vegetable
crop production.
c. Floriculture refers to farming, plant care,
propagation, and cultivation with one goal in
mind, the maximum production of flowering and
ornamental plants for gardens and floristry,
comprising the floral industry. The word is
derived from the Latin floris which means
“flower” and colere which means “to culture”.
Therefore, it is the cultivation of flower. To
elaborate, floriculture is an entire gardening
spectrum that is geared towards understanding
and improving all aspects of bud and flower
creation, including indoor lighting, grow room
requirements, greenhouse needs, plant
nutrition, irrigation, pest management, and
breeding new cultivars/strains
III. Agricultural Economics is study of the
allocation, distribution and utilization of the
resources used, along with the commodities
produced, by farming. It concerns itself with the
study of the production and consumption of
food in both developed and developing
countries along with analysis of the policies that
shape the world’s largest country. IV.
Agricultural Engineering is the area of
engineering concerned with the design,
construction and improvement of farming
equipment and machinery.
IV Agricultural engineers integrate
technology with farming. For example, they
design new and improved farming equipment
that may work more efficiently or perform new
tasks.
They design and build agricultural
infrastructure such as dams, water reservoirs,
warehouses, and other structures. They may
also help engineer solutions for pollution control
at large farms.
Some agricultural engineers are
developing new forms of biofuels from non-food
resources like algae and agricultural waste.
Such fuels could economically and
sustainably replace gasoline without
jeopardizing the food supply.
Module 2: Types of Agricultural Crops
and Its Classification
What are the types of agricultural crops and its
classification?
Types of Crops
Crops are divided into six categories, and
they’re as follows:
1. Food Crops
2. Feed Crops
3. Fiber Crops
4. Oil Crops
5. Ornamental Crops
6. Industrial Crops
Descriptions of Crops According to their
Categories
I. Food Crops – A plant that is primarily raise,
culture and harvest for
the human consumption. It has two
subcategories, the field crops and
root crops.
a) Field crop is a crop (other than fruits or
vegetables) that is
grown on a large scale for agricultural
purposes.
Examples are wheat, rice, corn, sugarcane, and
other forage crops. These crops typically
consist of a large majority of
agricultural acreage and crop revenues.
b) Root Crops – are underground plant parts
edible for human
Classification of Crops According to their
II. Feed Crops – A plant that is primarily raise, Reproduction
culture and harvest for the 1. Sexual - plants that develop from a seed or a
livestock consumption spore after undergoing
III. Fiber Crops – A plant that is primarily raise,
culture and harvest for its fibers which are used union of male and female gametes.
as raw material. 2. Asexual – plants which reproduce by any
IV. Oil Crops – A plant that is primarily raise, vegetative means without the union of the
culture and harvest as sexual gametes
base for biodiesel production.
V. Ornamental Crops – A plant that is primarily
raise and culture decorative purposes Classification of Crops According to Mode
especially in gardens and landscape design of Pollination
projects. I. Naturally Self-Pollinated Crops – predominant
VI. Industrial Crops – A plant that is cultured mode of pollination in
for their biological material which are used in this plant is self-pollinationII. Naturally Cross-
industrial processes into nonedible products. Pollinated Crops – pollen transfer in these plants is
(Example: Tobacco) from another of one flower in a separate plant.
III. Both Self and Cross Pollination Crops –
these plants are large pollinated but in varying
amounts.