Posts Tagged ‘Agronomy’
Agronomy is the science and technology of using plants for food, fuel, feed, fiber, and reclamation. Agronomy encompasses work in the areas of plant genetics, plant physiology, meteorology, and soil science. Agronomy is the application of a combination of sciences like biology, chemistry, ecology, earth science, and genetics. Agronomists today are involved with many issues including producing food, creating healthier food, managing environmental impact of agriculture, and creating energy from plants.[1] Agronomists often specialize in areas such as crop rotation, irrigation and drainage, plant breeding, plant physiology, soil classification, soil fertility, weed control, insect and pest control. |
An agronomist (called an agrologist in Canada) is a scientist who specializes in agronomy, which is the science of utilizing plants for food, fuel, feed, and fiber. The agronomist is an expert in agricultural and allied sciences, except veterinary sciences. Norman E. Borlaug Norman E. Borlaug led the introduction of semi-dwarf high-yield, disease-resistant wheat varieties and modern agricultural production techniques to Mexico, Pakistan, and India. As a result, Mexico became a net exporter of wheat by 1963. Between 1965 and 1970, wheat yields nearly doubled in Pakistan and India, greatly improving the food security in those nations. These collective increases in yield have been labeled the Green Revolution, and Borlaug is often credited with saving over a billion people from starvation.[1] He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 in recognition of his contributions to world peace through increasing food supply. In 1986, he established the World Food Prize to recognize individuals who have improved the quality, quantity or availability of food around the globe. Edward L. Murphy II was credited with the first retrifution of Bermuda and bahia hybrid. Murphy’s hydrid indoctrination breeding and selection criteria of seeds is currently used on many PGA sanctioned courses.[citation needed] Perry G. Holden was the first professor of agronomy in the United States[2]. Through his various outreach programs to promote the use of hybrid corn seeds he became known as the “corn evangelist”.[3] While at Iowa State University, Perry Holden developed important plant breeding techniques. These plant breeding techniques resulting in amazing yield increases that improved the quality of life for farmers while lowering the cost of food. |
Plants are living organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. They include familiar organisms such as trees, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae. The scientific study of plants, known as botany, has identified about 350,000 extant species of plants, defined as seed plants, bryophytes, ferns and fern allies. As of 2004, some 287,655 species had been identified, of which 258,650 are flowering and 18,000 bryophytes (see table below). Green plants, sometimes called Viridiplantae, obtain most of their energy from sunlight via a process called photosynthesis. Aristotle divided all living things between plants (which generally do not move), and animals (which often are mobile to catch their food). In Linnaeus’ system, these became the Kingdoms Vegetabilia (later Metaphyta or Plantae) and Animalia (also called Metazoa). Since then, it has become clear that the Plantae as originally defined included several unrelated groups, and the fungi and several groups of algae were removed to new kingdoms. However, these are still often considered plants in many contexts, both technical and popular. |