Details Title: Agriculture Description: Chapter 10 Agriculture Total Flash Cards: 39 Created: 06/10/2009 12:03:22		New Users: To study from this flashcard set, or to create your own your own study flash cards, REGISTER HERE. Existing Users: CLICK HERE. Additional Geography Flashcards
Cards in this set: Term Agribusiness Definition Agribusiness-commercial agriculture characterized by integration of different steps in the food-processing industry, usually though ownership by large corporations Term Agriculture Definition Agriculture-the deliberate effort to modify a portion of Earth’s surface through the cultivation of crops and the raising of livestock for sustenance or economic gain Term Cereal grain Definition Cereal grain-a grass yielding grain for food Term Chaff Definition Chaff- husks of grain separated from the seed by threshing Term Combine Definition Combine- a machine that reaps, threshes, and cleans grain while moving over a field Term Commercial agriculture Definition Commercial agriculture- agriculture undertaken primarily to generate products for sale off the farm Term Crop Definition Crop- grain or fruit gathered from a field as harvest during a particular season Term Crop rotation Definition Crop rotation- the practice of rotating use of different fields from crop to crop each year, to avoid exhausting the soil Term Desertification Definition Desertification- degradation of land, especially in semiarid areas, primarily because of human actions like excessive crop planting, animal grazing, and tree cutting Term Double cropping Definition Double cropping- harvesting twice a year from the same field Term Grain Definition Grain- seed of a cereal grass Term Green revolution Definition Green revolution- rapid diffusion of new agricultural technology, especially new high-yield seeds and fertilizers Term Horticulture Definition Horticulture- the growing of fruits, vegetables, and flowers Term Hull Definition Hull-the outer covering of a seed Term Intensive subsistence agriculture Definition Intensive subsistence agriculture- a form of subsistence agriculture in which farmers must expend a relatively large amount of effort to produce the maximum feasible yield from a parcel of land Term Milkshed Definition Milkshed- the area surrounding a city from which milk is supplied Term Paddy Definition Paddy- Malay word for wet rice, commonly but incorrectly used to describe a Sawah Term Pastoral nomadism Definition Pastoral nomadism- a form of subsistence agriculture based on heading domesticated animals Term Pasture Definition Pasture- grass or other plants grown for feeding grazing animals, as well as land used for grazing Term Plantation Definition Plantation- a large farm in tropical and subtropical climates that specializes in the production of one or two crops for sale, usually to a more developed country Term Prime agricultural land Definition Prime agricultural land- the most productive farmland Term Ranching Definition Ranching-a from of commercial agriculture in which livestock graze over an extensive area Term Reaper Definition Reaper- a machine that cuts grain standing in the field Term Ridge tillage Definition Ridge tillage- system of planting crops on ridge tops, in order to reduce farm production costs and promote greater soil conservation Term Sawah Definition Sawah- a flooded field for growing rice Term Seed agriculture Definition Seed agriculture- reproduction of plants through annual introduction of seeds, which result from sexual fertilization Term Slash-and-burn agriculture Definition Slash-and-burn agriculture- another name for shifting cultivation, so named because fields are cleared by slashing the vegetation and burning the debris Term Shifting cultivation Definition Shifting cultivation- a from of subsistence agriculture in which people shift activity from one field o another; each field is used for crops for a relatively few years and left fallow for a relatively long period Term Spring wheat Definition Spring wheat- wheat planted in the spring and harvested in the late summer Term Subsistence agriculture Definition Subsistence agriculture- agriculture designed primarily to provide food for direct consumption by the farmer and the farmer’s family Term Sustainable agriculture Definition Sustainable agriculture- farming methods that preserve long-term productivity of land and minimize pollution, typically by rotating soil-restoring crops with cash crops and reducing inputs of fertilizer and pesticides Term Swidden Definition Swidden- a patch of land cleared for planting through slashing and burning Term Thresh Definition Thresh- to beat out grain from stalks by tramping it Term Transhumance Definition Transhumance- the seasonal migration of livestock between mountains and lowland pastures Term Truck farming Definition Truck farming- commercial gardening and fruit farming, so named because truck was a Middle English word meaning bartering or the exchange of commodities Term Vegetative planting Definition Vegetative planting- reproduction of plants by direct cloning from existing plants Term Wet rice Definition Wet rice- rice planted on dry land in a nursery, and then moved to a deliberately flooded field to promote growth Term Winnow Definition Winnow- to remove chaff by allowing it to be blown away by the wind Term Winter wheat Definition Winter wheat- wheat planted in the fall and harvested in the early summer