Branches of Agriculture
Agriculture is a broad science with many branches which are explained below:
Animal Science: Animal Science is described as “studying the biology of animals that are under the control of mankind”.
Wildlife Conservation: Wildlife conservation is the practice of protecting wild plant and animal species and their habitats. Among the goals of wildlife conservation, they are to ensure that nature will be around for future generations to enjoy and to recognize the importance of wildlife and wild lands to humans.
Veterinary Science: Veterinary Science is the study of the diseases and health maintenance of animals. It is a major aspect of agriculture that prepares students for careers concerned with animal health and welfare, biological or biomedical sciences and biotechnology or related fields which require scientific-based academic preparation.
Fishery: Generally, a fishery is an entity engaged in raising or harvesting fish which is determined by some authority to be a fishery. A fishery is typically defined in terms of the “people involved, species or type of fish, area of water or seabed, method of fishing, class of boats, purpose of the activities or a combination of the foregoing features”. The definition often includes a combination of fish and fishers in a region, the latter fishing for similar species with similar gear types. A fishery may also involve the capture of wild fish or raising fish through fish farming or aquaculture.
Crop Science: Crop science is the study of the world’s major food, feed, turf, and fiber crops and their environment. It is a broad discipline encompassing breeding, genetics, production, and management.
Agricultural Engineering: Agricultural engineering is the engineering discipline that applies engineering science and technology to agricultural production and processing. Agricultural engineering combines the disciplines of mechanical, civil, electrical and chemical engineering principles with a knowledge of agricultural principles.
Agricultural engineers may engage in any of the following areas:
- design of agricultural machinery, equipment, and agricultural structures
- internal combustion engines as applied to agricultural machinery
- agricultural resource management (including land use and water use)
- water management, conservation, and storage for crop irrigation and livestock production
- surveying and land profiling
- climatology and atmospheric science
- soil management and conservation, including erosion and erosion control
- seeding, tillage, harvesting, and processing of crops
- livestock production, including poultry, fish, and dairy animals
- waste management, including animal waste, agricultural residues, and fertilizer runoff
- food engineering and the processing of agricultural products
- basic principles of circuit analysis, as applied to electrical motors
- physical and chemical properties of materials used in, or produced by, agricultural production
- bioresource engineering, which uses machines on the molecular level to help the environment.
- Design of experiments related to crop and animal production
Agricultural Extension: Agricultural extension is a general term meaning the application of scientific research and new knowledge to agricultural practices through farmer education. The field of ‘extension’ now encompasses a wider range of communication and learning activities organized for rural people by educators from different disciplines, including agriculture, agricultural marketing, health, and business studies.
Extension practitioners can be found throughout the world, usually working for government agencies. They are represented by several professional organizations, networks and extension journals.
Agricultural Economics: Agricultural economics is an applied field of economics concerned with the application of economic theory in optimizing the production and distribution of food and fibre — a discipline known as Agronomics. Agronomics was a branch of economics that specifically dealt with land usage.
Apiculture: Apiculture is derived from the honeybee’s Latin name Apis mellifera, meaning ‘honey gatherer’. Since bees do not collect honey but nectar from which honey is made, the scientific name should actually be Apis mellifica meaning ‘honey maker’.
Although apiculture refers to the honeybee, the vital role all bees play in the pollination of crops and flowering plants has caused apiculture to also include the management and study of non-Apis bees such as bumblebees and leafcutter bees.
Some 90 million years ago, flowering plants first appeared on earth. The wasp-like ancestors of bees took advantage of the food made available by flowers and began to modify their diet and physical characteristics. Since then, flowering plants and bees co-evolved. This eventually led to a complete interdependence, meaning that flowering plants and bees cannot live and reproduce without each other.
Soil Science: Soil science is the study of soil as a natural resource on the surface of the Earth including soil formation, classification and mapping; physical, chemical, biological, and fertility properties of soils; and these properties in relation to the use and management of soils.
Forestry: Forestry is the science, art and practice of understanding, managing and using wisely the natural resources associated with, and derived from forest lands.
These resources include timber, water, fish, wildlife, soil, plants, and recreation. Forest lands are instrumental in the beauty and spiritual impact of our landscape. The utilization of all of these resources is part of the cultural heritage of British Columbia, and modern resources management embraces these values. Finding a balance between these multiple uses, while sustaining and conserving forest resources is the basis of this challenging and exciting program of study.
Sericulture or Silk farming: Sericulture, or silk farming, is the rearing of silkworms for the production of silk. Although there are several commercial species of silkworms, Bombyx mori is the most widely used and intensively studied silkworm.
Heli culture: Heli culture, commonly known as snail farming, is the process of raising land snails specifically for human use, either to use their flesh as edible escargot, or more recently, to obtain snail slime for use in cosmetics, or snail eggs for human consumption as a type of caviar.
Cuniculture: Cuniculture is the agricultural practice of breeding and raising domestic rabbits, usually for their meat, fur, or wool. This differs from the simpler practice of keeping a single or small group of rabbits as companions, without selective breeding, reproduction, or the care of young animals.
Herpetoculture: Herpetoculture is the keeping of live reptiles and amphibians in captivity, whether as a hobby or as a commercial breeding operation. “Herps” is an informal term that refers to both reptiles and amphibians.
ASSESSMENT
1. ____ is the rearing of silkworms for the production of silk
a. Silk culture
b. Seri culture
c. Hepi culture
d. Heli culture
2. _____ is a general term meaning the application of scientific research and new knowledge to agricultural practices through farmer education
a. Agricultural extension
b. Agricultural economics
c. Agricultural education
d. Agricultural School
3. ____ is the agricultural practice of breeding and raising domestic rabbits, usually for their meat, fur, or wool.
a. Heliculture
b. Epiculture
c. Sericulture
d. Cuniculture
4. ____ is discipline that applies engineering science and technology to agricultural production and processing.
a. Agricultural extension
b. Agricultural economics
c. Agricultural education
d. Agricultural engineering
5. Whats the difference between herpetoculture and Heli culture?
6. Define forestry
7. What is silk farming?