AGRON 223 All definitions of Old Papers (English)

Ø  Sustainable agriculture: - Sustainable agriculture is a type of agriculture that focuses on producing long-term crops and livestock while having minimal effects on the environment. This type of agriculture tries to find a good balance between the need for food production and the preservation of the ecological system within the environment.

Ø  HEIA: - High external input Agriculture (HEIA) are technologies that utilize high external inputs such as inorganic or chemical fertilizers to increase nutrient depletion from the soil, pesticides to control pests and diseases, herbicides to control weeds and irrigation facilities for water management.

Ø  Thermodynamics: - Thermodynamics is the study of the relations between heat, work, temperature, and energy ".

Ø  Components of mixed farming: - The cultivation of crops alongside the rearing of animals for meat or eggs or milk defines mixed farming. For example, a mixed farm may grow cereal crops, such as wheat or rye, and also keep cattle, sheep, pigs or poultry. Often the dung from the cattle serves to fertilize the crops.

Ø  Agroforestry: - Any of a wide variety of land-use techniques in which grazing or crops are combined with trees and shrubs are referred to as agroforestry. Increased yields from staple food crops, improved farmer lives due to income production, higher biodiversity, improved soil structure and health, reduced erosion, and carbon sequestration are just a few advantages of this purposeful bond of agriculture and forestry.

Ø  Alley cropping: - Alley cropping is defined as the planting of rows of trees and/or shrubs to create alleys within which agricultural or horticultural crops are produced.

Ø  Agricultural biodiversity: - Agricultural biodiversity is defined as “the variety and variability of animals, plants and micro-organisms that are used directly or indirectly for food and agriculture, including crops, livestock, forestry and fisheries.

Ø  Conjunctive use of water: - Conjunctive use is a catch-phrase for coordinated use of surface water and groundwater— literally going with the flow to maximize sufficient yield.

Ø  Integrated farming system: - Integrated farming system is a sustainable agricultural system that integrates livestock, crop production, fish, poultry, tree, crops, plantation crops and other systems that benefit each other.

Ø  The Agro-climatic zones of Rajasthan: - The Agro-climatic zones of Rajasthan are as follows: Arid North Western Sandy Plain, Irrigated North Western Plain, Hyper Arid Partial Irrigated Zone.

Ø  Cropping intensity: - Cropping intensity is defined as the number of crops a farmer grows in a given agricultural year on the same field and is another means for intensification of production from the same plot of land.

Ø  Relative crowding coefficient (RCC): - Relative crowding coefficient (RCC) plays an important role in determining the competition effects and advantages of intercropping. According to Willey (1979), in an intercropping system each crop has its own RCC (K). The component crop with higher K value is the dominant one and that with lower K is lower dominated.

Ø  Aggressivity: - Aggressivity (A) was proposed by Mc Gilchrist (1965). It gives a simple measure of how much the relative yield increase in species a is greater than that for species b. An aggressivity value of zero indicates that both component species are equally competitive.

Ø  Apiculture: -The word 'apiculture' comes from the Latin word 'apis' meaning bee. So, apiculture or beekeeping is the care and management of honey bees for the production of honey and wax. In this method, bees are bred commercially in apiaries, an area where a lot of beehives can be placed.

Ø  Soil fertility: - Soil fertility is the ability of a soil to sustain plant growth, by providing essential plant nutrients and favorable chemical, physical, and biological characteristics as a habitat for plant growth.

Ø  Mulching: - Mulching is the process of covering the topsoil with plant material such as leaves, grass, twigs, crop residues, straw etc. A mulch cover enhances the activity of soil organisms such as earthworms.

Ø  Soil erosion: - It is a process in which the top fertile layer of soil is lost. Due to soil erosion, the soil becomes less fertile. The top layer of soil is very light which is easily carried away by wind and water. The removal of topsoil by the natural forces is known as soil erosion.

Ø  Saline soil: - Saline soil is defined as one that inhibits the growth of most crops because of the higher concentration of neutral soluble salts in it. The salinity of the soil (and also of water) is measured by electrical conductivity (EC), expressed in dS m−1 (deci Siemens per meter).

Ø  Multiple cropping: - Multiple cropping, defined as harvesting more than once a year, is a widespread land management strategy in tropical and subtropical agriculture. It is a way of intensifying agricultural production and diversifying the crop mix for economic and environmental benefits.

Ø  Farming System Research (FSR): -The term Farming System Research (FSR) in its broadest sense is any research that views the farm in a holistic manner and considers interactions between components and of components with the environment in the system.

Ø  Green manuring: - A quick growing crop which is cultivated and ploughed under, to incorporate it into the soil for the purpose of improving its physical struture and fertility, is known as green manure, For example, sunhemp (sanai) - Crotalaria juncea.

Ø  Ratoon crop: - Ratooning is the agricultural practice of harvesting, a monocot crop by cutting plant of the above-ground portion of but leaving the roots and the growing shoot apices intact. so as to allow the plants to recover and produce a fresh crop in the next season.

Ø  LEISA: - Low external-input sustainable agriculture (LEISA) is a term that is used to define farming practices that are conducted with three main aims; environmental conservation, economic profitability as well as social equity. In simple terms, it can merely be referred to as responsible farming.

Ø  Input use efficiency: -The concept of 'Input efficiency' implies production of high quantity and quality of food, from using only finite natural resources as inputs, in the form of mainly land, water, nutrients, energy, or biological diversity.

Ø  Sustainable yield index: - Sustainable yield index is a derivative of actual yields over a long period and a high Sustainable yield index indicates a better management practice capable of producing good yields over the years.

Ø  Organic farming: - Organic farming is a method of agricultural production that excludes the use of synthetic substances, such as pesticides, synthetic medicines or fertilisers and genetically modified organisms.

Ø  Soil health: - Soil health is defined as “the capacity of soil to function as a vital living system, within ecosystem and land-use boundaries, to sustain plant and animal productivity, maintain or enhance water and air quality, and promote plant and animal health”.

Ø  Cropping system: -The term cropping system refers to the crops, crop sequences and management techniques used on a particular agricultural field over a period of years.

Ø  Problematic soil: - The soils which possess characteristics that make them uneconomical for the cultivation of crops without adopting proper reclamation measures are known as problem soils.

Ø  Ill-effects of indiscriminate use of chemical fertilizers: - The excessive use of these fertilizers kills all the microorganisms available naturally in the soil which are highly essential for maintaining the soil health. The fertilizer runoff causes water pollution on a large scale whose sphere of impact extends far beyond the farmer and the fields.

Ø  Feed conversion efficiency: - Feed conversion efficiency or ratio is a fairly simple calculation to perform. The total weight of feed is divided by the net production (=final weight - starting weight) to obtain the feed conversion.

Ø  Example each of draft and dairy breeds of Indian cattle: -

Draft breeds: - Nagori, Kathiyawadi, Malvi.

dairy breeds: - Sahiwal, Gir, HF, Rathi

Ø  Total factor productivity: - TFP measures the amount of agricultural output produced from the combined set of land, labor, capital, and material resources employed in farm production. If total output is growing faster than total inputs, then the total productivity of the factors of production (i.e., total factor productivity) is increasing.

Complementary Effect: The effect of one factor on another, which enhances growth and productivity, as compared to above competition. Component crops: Individual crop species that are a part of a multiple-cropping system.