Editing Agricultural science

{{short description|Academic field within biology}}
{{Redirect|Crop Science|the journal|Crop Science (journal)|the company|Bayer CropScience}}
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{{Agriculture|related}}

'''Agricultural science''' (or '''agriscience''' for short<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Agriscience {{!}} Meaning & Definition for UK English |encyclopedia=[[Oxford Dictionary of English]] |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] via [[Lexico]] |language=en |url=https://www.lexico.com/definition/agriscience |access-date=2022-02-20 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220220064428/https://www.lexico.com/definition/agriscience |archive-date=20 February 2022}}</ref>) is a broad multidisciplinary field of [[biology]] that encompasses the parts of exact, natural, economic and [[social science]]s that are used in the practice and understanding of [[agriculture]]. Professionals of the agricultural science are called agricultural scientists or [[agriculturists]].

==History==
{{Main|History of agricultural science}}

In the 18th century, [[Johann Friedrich Mayer (agriculturist)|Johann Friedrich Mayer]] conducted experiments on the use of [[gypsum]] (hydrated [[calcium sulfate]]) as a [[fertilizer]].<ref name="JB 1840">John Armstrong, Jesse Buel. ''A Treatise on Agriculture, The Present Condition of the Art Abroad and at Home, and the Theory and Practice of Husbandry. To which is Added, a Dissertation on the Kitchen and Garden.'' 1840. p. 45.</ref>

In 1843, [[John Lawes|John Bennet Lawes]] and [[Joseph Henry Gilbert]] began a set of long-term field experiments at [[Rothamsted Research Station|Rothamsted Research]] in England, some of which are still running as of 2018.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Long Term Experiments |publisher=Rothamsted Research |url=https://www.rothamsted.ac.uk/long-term-experiments |access-date=26 March 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180327084207/https://www.rothamsted.ac.uk/long-term-experiments |archive-date=27 March 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Fertilizer History: The Haber-Bosch Process |date=2014-11-19 |website=tfi.org |language=en |url=https://www.tfi.org/the-feed/fertilizer-history-haber-bosch-process |access-date=2022-12-14 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801233037/https://www.tfi.org/the-feed/fertilizer-history-haber-bosch-process |archive-date=1 August 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Lawes and Gilbert: an unlikely Victorian agricultural partnership |website=Harpenden History |language=en |url=https://www.harpenden-history.org.uk/harpenden-history/topics-cms/farms-and-farming/lawes_and_gilbert_an_unlikely_victorian_agricultural_partnership |access-date=2022-12-14}}</ref>

In the United States, a scientific revolution in agriculture began with the [[Hatch Act of 1887]], which used the term "agricultural science".<ref>{{cite web |title=The Hatch Act of 1887 |website=National Institute of Food and Agriculture |language=en |url=https://www.nifa.usda.gov/grants/programs/capacity-grants/hatch-act-1887 |access-date=2022-12-14}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Hatch Act of 1887 |date=2020-11-23 |website=College of Life Sciences and Agriculture |language=en |url=https://colsa.unh.edu/nhaes/hatch-act-1887 |access-date=2022-12-14}}</ref> 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.<ref>Hillison J. (1996). [http://pubs.aged.tamu.edu/jae/pdf/vol37/37-04-08.pdf The Origins of Agriscience: Or Where Did All That Scientific Agriculture Come From?] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081002140821/http://pubs.aged.tamu.edu/jae/pdf/vol37/37-04-08.pdf |date=2 October 2008}}. ''Journal of Agricultural Education''.</ref> For the next 44 years after 1906, federal expenditures on agricultural research in the United States outpaced private expenditures.<ref name=ScienceForAg>Huffman WE, Evenson RE. (2006). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=ZWcolrGftT0C Science for Agriculture]''. [[Blackwell Publishing]].</ref>{{rp|xxi}}
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Intensification of agriculture since the 1960s in developed and [[developing country|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 [[fertilizer]]s and [[pesticide]]s.

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 management|waste treatment]] technologies, [[landscape architecture]], [[genomics]], and [[agricultural philosophy]] fields that include references to [[food industry|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 [[statistics|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 [[history of agriculture|traditional agriculture]], including interaction of [[religion and agriculture]], and the non-material components of agricultural production systems.-->

==Prominent agricultural scientists==
[[File:Norman Borlaug.jpg|thumb|200px|Norman Borlaug, father of the [[Green Revolution]].]]
* [[Wilbur Olin Atwater]]
* [[Robert Bakewell (farmer)|Robert Bakewell]]
* [[Norman Borlaug]]
* [[Luther Burbank]]
* [[George Washington Carver]]
* [[Carl Henry Clerk]]
* [[George C. Clerk]]
* [[René Dumont]]
* [[Sir Albert Howard]]
* [[Kailas Nath Kaul]]
* [[Thomas Lecky]]
* [[Justus von Liebig]]
* [[Jay Lush|Jay Laurence Lush]]
* [[Gregor Mendel]]
* [[Louis Pasteur]]
* [[M. S. Swaminathan]]
* [[Jethro Tull (agriculturist)|Jethro Tull]]
* [[Artturi Ilmari Virtanen]]
* [[Sewall Wright]]

==Fields or related disciplines==
{{Div col|content=
* [[Agricultural biotechnology]]
* [[Agricultural chemistry]]
* [[Agricultural diversification]]
* [[Agricultural education]]
* [[Agricultural economics]]
* [[Agricultural engineering]]
* [[Agricultural geography]]
* [[Agricultural philosophy]]
* [[Agricultural marketing]]
* [[Agricultural soil science]]
** [[Soil science]]
* [[Agroecology]]
* [[Agronomy]]
** [[Botany]]
** [[Theoretical production ecology]]
** [[Horticulture]]
** [[Plant breeding]]
** [[Fertilizer|Plant fertilization]]
* [[Agrophysics]]
* [[Animal science]]
** [[Animal breeding]]
** [[Animal husbandry]]
** [[Animal nutrition]]
* [[Biological engineering]]
** [[Genetic engineering]]
* [[Entomology]]
* [[Environmental science]]
* Farm management
* [[Fisheries science]]
** [[Aquaculture]]
** [[Fisheries]]
** [[Marine fisheries]]
* [[Food science]]
** [[Human nutrition]]
* [[Irrigation]] and [[water management]]
* [[Microbiology]]
** [[Plant pathology]]
* [[Nematology]]
* [[Range management]]
* [[Waste management]]
* [[Weed]] science
}}

==Scope==
Agriculture, agricultural science, and agronomy are closely related. However, they cover different concepts:
* Agriculture is the set of activities that transform the environment for the production of animals and plants for human use. Agriculture concerns techniques, including the application of agronomic research.
* [[Agronomy]] is [[research and development]] related to studying and improving plant-based crops.
*{{visible anchor|Geoponics}} is the science of cultivating the earth.<ref>“Geoponics.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/geoponics. Accessed 17 Nov. 2024.</ref>
*[[Hydroponics]] involves growing plants without soil, by using water-based mineral nutrient solutions in an artificial environment.

==Research topics==
Agricultural sciences include research and development on:<ref name="Bosso 2015">{{cite book |last=Bosso |first=Thelma |title=Agricultural Science |publisher=Callisto Reference |year=2015 |isbn=978-1-63239-058-5}}</ref><ref name="Boucher 2018">{{cite book |last=Boucher |first=Jude |title=Agricultural Science and Management |publisher=Callisto Reference |year=2018 |isbn=978-1-63239-965-6}}</ref>
* Improving [[agricultural productivity]] in terms of quantity and quality (e.g., selection of [[drought tolerance|drought-resistant]] crops and animals, development of new [[pesticide]]s, yield-sensing technologies, simulation models of crop growth, in-vitro [[cell culture]] techniques)
* Minimizing the effects of pests ([[weed]]s, [[insect]]s, [[pathogen]]s, [[mollusk]]s, [[nematode]]s) on crop or animal production systems.
* Transformation of primary products into end-consumer products (e.g., production, preservation, and packaging of [[dairy product]]s)
* Prevention and correction of adverse environmental effects (e.g., [[soil retrogression and degradation|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.
* Food production and demand globally, with particular attention paid to the primary producers, such as China, India, Brazil, the US, and the EU.
* Various sciences relating to agricultural resources and the environment (e.g. soil science, agroclimatology); biology of agricultural crops and animals (e.g. crop science, animal science and their included sciences, e.g. ruminant nutrition, farm animal welfare); such fields as agricultural economics and rural sociology; various disciplines encompassed in [[agricultural engineering]].

==See also==
* [[Agricultural Research Council]]
* [[Agricultural sciences basic topics]]
* [[Agriculture ministry]]
* [[Agroecology]]
* [[American Society of Agronomy]]
* [[Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research]] (CGIAR)
* [[Crop Science Society of America]]
* [[Genomics of domestication]]
* [[History of agricultural science]]
* [[Indian Council of Agricultural Research]]
* [[Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences]]
* [[International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development]]
* [[International Food Policy Research Institute]], IFPRI
* [[International Institute of Tropical Agriculture]]
* [[International Livestock Research Institute]]
* [[List of agriculture topics]]
* [[National Agricultural Library]] (NAL)
* [[National FFA Organization]]
* [[Research Institute of Crop Production]] (RICP) (in the Czech Republic)
* [[Soil Science Society of America]]
* [[USDA Agricultural Research Service]]
* [[University of Agricultural Sciences (disambiguation)|University of Agricultural Sciences]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080829120156/http://www.press.jhu.edu/books/title_pages/9358.html Agricultural Research, Livelihoods, and Poverty: Studies of Economic and Social Impacts in Six Countries] Edited by Michelle Adato and Ruth Meinzen-Dick (2007), Johns Hopkins University Press Food Policy Report<ref name="Brief">[https://www.ifpri.org/publication/agricultural-research-livelihoods-and-poverty/ Agricultural research, livelihoods, and poverty | International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100626071001/http://www.ifpri.org/publication/agricultural-research-livelihoods-and-poverty |date=26 June 2010}}</ref>
* Claude Bourguignon, ''Regenerating the Soil: From Agronomy to Agrology'', Other India Press, 2005
* Pimentel David, Pimentel Marcia, ''Computer les kilocalories'', Cérès, n. 59, sept-oct. 1977
* Russell E. Walter, ''Soil conditions and plant growth'', Longman group, London, New York 1973
* {{cite journal |title=Genetics and geography of wild cereal domestication in the near east |journal=Nature Reviews Genetics |volume=3 |issue=6 |pages=429–441 |year=2002 |last1=Salamini |first1=Francesco |last2=Özkan |first2=Hakan |last3=Brandolini |first3=Andrea |last4=Schäfer-Pregl |first4=Ralf |last5=Martin |first5=William |pmid=12042770 |doi=10.1038/nrg817 |s2cid=25166879}}
* Saltini Antonio, ''Storia delle scienze agrarie'', 4 vols, Bologna 1984–89, {{ISBN|88-206-2412-5}}, {{ISBN|88-206-2413-3}}, {{ISBN|88-206-2414-1}}, {{ISBN|88-206-2415-X}}
* Vavilov Nicolai I. (Starr Chester K. editor), ''The Origin, Variation, Immunity and Breeding of Cultivated Plants. Selected Writings'', in Chronica botanica, 13: 1–6, Waltham, Mass., 1949–50
* Vavilov Nicolai I., ''World Resources of Cereals, Leguminous Seed Crops and Flax,'' Academy of Sciences of Urss, National Science Foundation, Washington, Israel Program for Scientific Translations, Jerusalem 1960
* Winogradsky Serge, ''Microbiologie du sol. Problèmes et methodes. Cinquante ans de recherches,'' Masson & c.ie, Paris 1949

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