Industrial agriculture applies the techniques of mechanization and standardization to farming. It is also called agribusiness, and was put in motion by the Green Revolution. The Green Revolution was a shift in agricultural practices in the twentieth century that included new management techniques, mechanization, fertilization, irrigation, and improved crop varieties, and resulted in increased food output.
Irrigation
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Irrigation is the artificial application of water to land to assist in the production of crops. It can increase crop growth rates or even enable crops to grow where they could not otherwise be grown. Also, it can allow productive land to become extremely productive land.The 16% of the world's land that is irrigated produces 40% of the world's food!
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There are a few detriments to irrigation. It can deplete groundwater and draw down aquifers, as we saw in the case of the Ogallala aquifer in Chapter 9. In coastal areas, it can promote saltwater intrusion into freshwater wells. It can also contribute to soil degradation through waterlogging and salinization.
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MonoCropping
Monocropping is an agricultural method that utilizes large plantings of a single species or variety. It is the dominant agricultural practice in the United States. It has many advantages and disadvantages.
advantages
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disadvantages
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Pesticides
Pesticides are substances, either natural or synthetic, that kill or control organisms that people consider pests. The use of pesticides has become routine and widespread in modern industrial agriculture.
There are many types of pesticides. The following list explains the basic categories of pesticides.
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The pesticide treadmill |
Pest populations may evolve resistance to pesticides over time, which leads to the pesticide treadmill. It is a cycle of pesticide development, followed by pest resistance, followed by new pesticide development.
Pesticides can cause even wider environmental effects. They may kill organisms that benefit farmers, such as predatory insects that eat crop pests,pollinator insects that pollinate crop plants, and plants that fix nitrogen and improve soil fertility. Furthermore, chemical pesticides, like fertilizers, can run off into surrounding surface waters and potentially enter groundwater. Pesticides injure or kill organisms other than their intended targets. In the 1970's, an ingredient in pesticides called DDT killed many birds, fish, and even humans! |