Information about Careers
By
Dinesh Kamath
Agricultural science
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.)
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, sometimes 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 systems greater than that of industrial agriculture, which may be
more sustainable than some modern agricultural systems.
Fertilizer
One of the most common yield reducers is
because of fertilizer not being applied in slightly higher quantities during
transition period, the time it takes the soil to rebuild its aggregates and
organic matter. Yields will decrease temporarily because of nitrogen being
immobilized in the crop residue, which can take a few months to several years
to decompose, depending on the crop's C to N ratio and the local environment
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
Agricultural science began with Gregor
Mendel's genetic work, but in modern terms might be better dated from the
chemical fertilizer outputs of plant physiological understanding in eighteenth
century Germany.
In the United States, a scientific revolution in agriculture began with the
Hatch Act of 1887, which used the term "agricultural science". The
Hatch Act was driven by farmers' interest in knowing the constituents of early
artificial fertilizer. The Smith-Hughes Act of 1917 shifted agricultural
education back to its vocational roots, but the scientific foundation had been
built. After 1906, public expenditures on agricultural research in the US exceeded
private expenditures for the next 44 years.
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 are Norman
Borlaug, father of the Green Revolution, Justus von Liebig, Jethro Tull, Robert
Bakewell, Norman Borlaug, Luther Burbank, George Washington Carver, Jay Lush, Gregor
Mendel, Kailas Nath Kaul, Louis Pasteur, Eli Whitney and Sewall Wright.
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 influenza, mad cow disease and issues such as the use of
genetically modified organisms) illustrate the complexity and importance of
this debate.
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