Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals and plants to sustain human life, including food consumption, medicinal, creation of fibers, and biofuels. Through agriculture, civilizations stopped foraging and being nomadic and began life as we know it today. Agriculture encompasses many different categories, including: horticulture, animal husbandry, and forestry
Horticulture focuses on the cultivation of plants by using smaller plots of mixed crops, such as vegetables, fruits, herbs, flowers, grasses and trees. There are nine areas that study the production, management and marketing of horticulture plants:
- Arboriculture: trees, shrubs vines and woody plants
- Turf Management: turf grasses for sports
- Floriculture: floral crops
- Landscape: landscaping plants
- Olericulture: vegetables
- Pomology: pome fruits; fruits produced by flowering trees such as apples
- Viticulture: production of grapes
- Oenology: aspects of wine and winemaking that do not include vine health and harvest
- Harvest physiology: spoilage of plants
Animal husbandry is the management and care of livestock by humans. This including studying behavior, breeding, grooming, accommodations, hygiene and genetics. It is a blend of time-honored and handed down strategies, combined with modern methodology and techniques. Livestock is considered any animal that is raised for food, wool or other functional uses; such as cows, pigs, horses, chickens and goats.
Forestry is the application of science for the care of a forest. It examines characteristics of individual trees in a forest and the interactions of those trees with each other and with the forest ecosystem as a whole. Modern forestry has evolved to include the management of the timber, along with creating, conserving and repairing forests. Forests provide fuel and wildlife habitats, but are also vital as a natural source of water quality and watershed management, erosion control and ‘sinks’ for atmospheric carbon dioxide.
Source: lapencia/Bigstock.com