Agricultural Terms

• Agroecology: the study of the interrelationships of living organisms with each other and with their environment in an agricultural system.
• Biodynamic: a type of organic farming system. Biodynamic farming takes into consideration both biological cycles and also “dynamic”—metaphysical or spiritual—aspects of the farm, with the intention of achieving balance between physical and non-physical realms.
• Biological control: the practice of using beneficial organisms—such as insect predators or parasites of pest insects, pest disease agents, insect-eating birds and bats—to keep pest populations at a tolerable level.
• Biotechnology: the science of gene modification, in which DNA is transferred from one organism to another, altering the molecular makeup of the recipient and resulting in the expression of new characteristics.
• Catch Crop: a crop grown to hold on to, or catch, excess nutrients still in the soil following an economic crop. Rather than being leached from the soil, the nutrients are taken up by the catch crop and then returned to the soil when the plants decompose.
• Companion Crops: Crops that are planted close to one another to achieve some mutual benefit such as repelling insect pests or attracting beneficial insects, shade, wind protection, support, or nutrient enrichment.
• Conservation Tillage: a production system in which at least 30% of the soil surface is covered by residues from previous crops. Conservation tillage is practiced to reduce erosion and to conserve soil carbon. Surface organic mulches are heavily used in Conservation Tillage systems.
• Conventional Agriculture: an industrialized agricultural system characterized by mechanization, monocultures, and the use of synthetic inputs such as chemical fertilizers and pesticides, with an emphasis on maximizing productivity and profitability.
• Cover Crop: a crop grown to prevent soil erosion by covering the soil with living vegetation and roots that hold on to the soil. Cover crops are also grown to help maintain soil organic matter and increase nitrogen availability.
• Crop Rotation: the practice of planting a sequence of different crops and cover crops on a specific field. Crop rotations can be used to help build soil fertility, reduce insect pest pressure, and suppress weeds.
• Farmscaping: the practice of designing and maintaining habitats that attract and support beneficial organisms, used to improve crop pollination and to control pest species.
• Flame-Weeding: the practice of using heat to kill weeds. Typically a flame torch is used to clear weed species in a manner that does not affect the crop species or at a time when the crop species is not present.
• Genetically Modified Organism (GMO): an organism that has been genetically altered through the transfer of DNA from another organism, resulting in the expression of new characteristics in the recipient.
• Green Manure: a cover crop grown to help maintain soil organic matter and increase nitrogen availability. Legumes are often used because they have rhizobial bacteria living in their root nodules that are able to fix nitrogen from the air and add it to the soil.
• Humus: Well-decomposed organic matter which is resistant to further decomposition and which may persist for hundreds of years. Humus holds on to some nutrients, storing them for slow release to plants.
• Intercropping: the practice of planting two or more mutually beneficial crops in close proximity, typically as alternating rows or numbers of rows. Benefits can include insect or weed suppression, structural support, or shade.
• Mulching: the practice of spreading organic materials—such as straw, compost, or wood chips—over otherwise bare soil between and among crop plants. Mulching helps to conserve moisture, suppress weeds, and build soil organic matter.
• Organic Agriculture: referring to a type of agriculture that promotes the use of renewable resources and management of biological cycles to enhance biological diversity, without the use of genetically modified organisms, or synthetic pesticides, herbicides, or fertilizers.
• Permaculture: stands for “permanent agriculture” and it is a land use concept that refers to the design of ecological human habitats and food production systems, with goal of harmonious integration of human dwellings, annual and perennial plants, animals, soil, and water, into stable, productive communities.
• Sustainable Agriculture: referring to an agricultural system that is ecologically sound, economically viable, and socially just—a system capable of maintaining productivity indefinitely.
• Tilth: the physical structure of soil as it influences plant growth. A soil with good tilth is porous, allowing water to infiltrate easily, and permitting roots to grow without obstruction.
• Trap Crop: a crop that is planted to lure pest insects away from an economic crop.