Agriculture

What is agriculture? Agriculture is a human activity in which people use areas of land to produce food, clothing and other necessary materials.

The word ager is a Latin word. It means a field. The word agriculture means the cultivation of fields and growing crops. But this is the old meaning of this word. Now it also means the use of land to breed animals. At present there are two main branches of agriculture. They are crop growing and animal breeding.

We do not know when people began to grow crops. It was many thousand years ago. Now crop growing is a highly developed branch of agriculture.

The soil is the basis of agriculture. Enough food for all the people can be grown if there is sufficient good soil for crops to produce high yields.

There are two ways to grow enough food plants. They are: the increase in area of arable land and the intensification of agricultural production in the areas already used for cropping. At present the second way is more important because there is not enough experience to reclaim tropical and subtropical lands.

The intensification of production in the traditional agricultural areas is based on the knowledge of climate, soils and their use, and on a large collection of high-yielding varieties and hybrids of agricultural crops.

All intensification factors, such as full mechanization, high application of fertilizers and extensive use of herbicides must be used in such a way as not to disturb the biological equilibrium of the soil.

1) agriculture – сельское хозяйство

2) the cultivation of fields – возделывание полей

3) crop – сельскохозяйственная культура

4) animal breeding – амер. животноводство

5) soil – почва

6) sufficient – достаточный

7) yield – урожай, сбор плодов

8) arable – пахотный

9) intensification – усиление, интенсификация

10) to reclaim – поднимать (целину, заброшенные земли);

проводить мелиорацию

11) fertilizer – удобрение

12) application – применение

13) extensive – с.-х. экстенсивный

14) equilibrium – равновесие

15) herbicide – гербицид

16) variety – зд. сорт, вид

17) full mechanization – полная механизация

18) hybrid – гибрид

Прочитайте текст и составьте план, используя данные предложения.

1) Agriculture provides people with different kinds of food. 2) The increase in crop yields can be realized by applying fertilizers. 3) Agriculture is an important sector of economy. 4) The aim of agriculture is to produce much food. 5) When the crop does not grow well, it means that the conditions are bad for its growth.

2. Ответьте на следующие вопросы:

1) What is agriculture?

2) What does the word ager mean?

3) What does the word agriculture mean?

4) What is the basis of agriculture?

5) What are the main branches of agriculture?

6) Are there two ways to grow enough food plants? What are they?

7) What are the intensification factors?

8) What is the intensification of production based on?