1.
Market garden
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A market garden is the relatively small-scale production of fruits, vegetables and flowers as cash crops, frequently sold directly to consumers and restaurants. The diversity of crops grown on an area of land, typically, from under one acre to a few acres. Such a farm on a scale is sometimes called a truck farm. A market garden is a business provides a wide range. Unlike large, industrial farms, which practice monoculture and mechanization, many different crops and varieties are grown and more manual labor, market gardening and orchard farming are closely related to horticulture, which concerns the growing of fruits and vegetables. Such operations were not necessarily small-scale, a market garden was simply a vegetable plot, the produce of which the farmer used to sell as opposed to use to feed his or her family. Market gardens are close to the markets, i. e. cities. The word truck in Truck farms does not refer to the truck, which is derived from Latin for wheel, but rather from the old north French word troquer. The use for vegetables raised for market can be traced back to 1784, selling to the wholesale market usually earns 10–20% of the retail price, but direct-to-consumer selling earns 100%. Although highly variable, a farm may return a few hundred to a few thousand dollars per acre but an efficient market garden can earn in the $10, 000–15,000 per acre range. However, the size of a garden has a practical upper bound based on this model. Relying on cities for markets, however, can have drawbacks, for example, in England, south Sussex was famous for growing tomatoes for the London market that were delivered by train. Urban sprawl still eats up farmland in urban regions, buying the rights to develop farmland from the farmers solved this problem in Suffolk County, New York. In some more affluent countries, including Australia and the United States and it is typically taken up by recent immigrant groups for one or two generations, until they can accumulate capital, language and trade skills. Involvement in a market garden lets immigrant groups who otherwise have few marketable skills apart from their labour, become actively involved in the market economy. Benefits are that it does not rely on education or language, it well to providing work for extended family groups. Market-gardening land is relatively cheap and allows immigrants to purchase land, often with an accompanying residence. However, like all agriculture it risks crop failure, market collapse and competition from industrialised broad-acre farming, other risks are from hazards such as pesticide use, especially where the market gardeners are not trained in their use or able to read product information
2.
Lawrenceville, Georgia
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Lawrenceville is a city in and the county seat of Gwinnett County, Georgia, in the United States. It is a suburb of Atlanta, located approximately 30 miles northeast of downtown, as of the 2010 census, the population of Lawrenceville was 28,546. In 2015, the U. S. Census Bureau estimated the city population to be 30,493, Lawrenceville has six ZIP codes, and it is part of the 678/770/404 telephone area code, which is used throughout metropolitan Atlanta. Lawrenceville was incorporated by an act of the Georgia General Assembly on December 15,1821 and this makes Lawrenceville the second oldest city in the metropolitan Atlanta area. The city is named after Commodore James Lawrence, commander of the frigate Chesapeake during the War of 1812, Lawrence, a native of New Jersey, is probably best known today for his dying command, Dont give up the ship. William Maltbie, the towns first postmaster, suggested the name of Lawrenceville. In 1821, a permanent site for the county courthouse was selected and purchased, the four streets bordering the square were laid out along with streets in the village. Major Grace built the first permanent courthouse, a brick structure, the courthouse presently on the square was constructed in 1885. Courtland Winn served two terms as mayor starting in 1884 when he was 21 years old, the two most famous people born in Lawrenceville gained their fame elsewhere. Charles Henry Smith, born in 1826, left as a young man, during the Civil War he wrote humorous pieces for Atlanta newspapers under the name Bill Arp. He has been described as the Souths most popular writer of the late 19th century, ezzard Charles, born in 1921, grew up in Cincinnati, where opportunities for African-Americans were far better at the time than in the Deep South. He eventually became the World Heavyweight boxing champion by defeating Joe Louis by unanimous decision on September 27,1950, another resident, Oliver Hardy, became a world-renowned comic actor, a member of the film duo Laurel and Hardy from the 1920s to the 1940s. He lived as a child in downtown Lawrenceville around 1900, but his stay was brief, because his family moved often within Georgia. Lawrenceville was one of venues in the nation where Hustler magazine publisher Larry Flynt faced obscenity charges in the late 1970s. On March 6,1978, during a break in his Lawrenceville trial, he. Both survived, though Flynt was seriously disabled, years later, imprisoned serial killer Joseph Paul Franklin claimed to have been the shooter, but he never produced any proof and was not charged in the case. A heavily fictionalized treatment of the Flynt shooting can be seen in the 1996 movie The People vs, since 1988, Lawrenceville has been the headquarters of the Presbyterian Church in America. Lawrenceville is located in central Gwinnett County at 33°57′11″N 83°59′33″W
3.
Plant
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Plants are mainly multicellular, predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. The term is generally limited to the green plants, which form an unranked clade Viridiplantae. This includes the plants, conifers and other gymnosperms, ferns, clubmosses, hornworts, liverworts, mosses and the green algae. Green plants have cell walls containing cellulose and obtain most of their energy from sunlight via photosynthesis by primary chloroplasts and their chloroplasts contain chlorophylls a and b, which gives them their green color. Some plants are parasitic and have lost the ability to produce amounts of chlorophyll or to photosynthesize. Plants are characterized by sexual reproduction and alternation of generations, although reproduction is also common. There are about 300–315 thousand species of plants, of which the great majority, green plants provide most of the worlds molecular oxygen and are the basis of most of Earths ecologies, especially on land. Plants that produce grains, fruits and vegetables form humankinds basic foodstuffs, Plants play many roles in culture. They are used as ornaments and, until recently and in variety, they have served as the source of most medicines. The scientific study of plants is known as botany, a branch of biology, Plants are one of the two groups into which all living things were traditionally divided, the other is animals. The division goes back at least as far as Aristotle, who distinguished between plants, which generally do not move, and animals, which often are mobile to catch their food. Much later, when Linnaeus created the basis of the system of scientific classification. Since then, it has become clear that the plant kingdom as originally defined included several unrelated groups, however, these organisms are still often considered plants, particularly in popular contexts. When the name Plantae or plant is applied to a group of organisms or taxon. The evolutionary history of plants is not yet settled. Those which have been called plants are in bold, the way in which the groups of green algae are combined and named varies considerably between authors. Algae comprise several different groups of organisms which produce energy through photosynthesis, most conspicuous among the algae are the seaweeds, multicellular algae that may roughly resemble land plants, but are classified among the brown, red and green algae. Each of these groups also includes various microscopic and single-celled organisms
4.
Cultivar
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The term cultivar most commonly refers to an assemblage of plants selected for desirable characteristics that are maintained during propagation. More generally, cultivar refers to the most basic classification category of cultivated plants governed by the ICNCP, most cultivars have arisen in cultivation, but a few are special selections from the wild. Popular ornamental garden plants like roses, camellias, daffodils, rhododendrons, trees used in forestry are also special selections grown for their enhanced quality and yield of timber. Cultivars form a part of Liberty Hyde Baileys broader grouping. Cultivar was coined by Bailey and it is regarded as a portmanteau of cultivated and variety. A cultivar is not the same as a variety, a taxonomic rank below subspecies. In recent times, the naming of cultivars has been complicated by the use of statutory plant patents, the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants offers legal protection of plant cultivars to people or organisations who introduce new cultivars to commerce. UPOV requires that a cultivar be distinct, uniform and stable, to be distinct, it must have characteristics that easily distinguish it from any other known cultivar. To be uniform and stable, the cultivar must retain these characteristics under repeated propagation, a cultivar is given a cultivar name, which consists of the scientific Latin botanical name followed by a cultivar epithet. The cultivar epithet is usually in a vernacular language, for example, the full cultivar name of the King Edward potato is Solanum tuberosum King Edward. The King Edward part of the name is the cultivar epithet, the origin of the term cultivar arises from the need to distinguish between wild plants and those with characteristics that have arisen in cultivation. This distinction dates back to the Greek philosopher Theophrastus, the Father of Botany, botanical historian Alan Morton notes that Theophrastus in his Enquiry into Plants had an inkling of the limits of culturally induced changes and of the importance of genetic constitution. In Species Plantarum, Linnaeus listed all the known to him. Most of the listed by Linnaeus were of garden origin rather than being wild plants. Over time there was an increasing need to distinguish between plants growing in the wild, and those with variations that had produced in cultivation. In the nineteenth century many garden-derived plants were given names, sometimes in Latin. In the twentieth century an improved international terminology was proposed for the classification and it is essentially the equivalent of the botanical variety except in respect to its origin. However, Bailey was never explicit about the etymology of the word, and it has suggested that it is a contraction of the words cultigen and variety
5.
Conservation biology
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It is an interdisciplinary subject drawing on natural and social sciences, and the practice of natural resource management. The conservation ethic is based on the findings of conservation biology, wilcox and Michael E. Soulé with a group of leading university and zoo researchers and conservationists including Kurt Benirschke, Sir Otto Frankel, Thomas E. Lovejoy, and Jared M. Diamond. The meeting was prompted by the concern over deforestation, disappearing species. Conservation biology and the concept of biological diversity emerged together, helping crystallize the modern era of conservation science, the inherent multidisciplinary basis for conservation biology has led to new subdisciplines including conservation social science, conservation behavior and conservation physiology. It stimulated further development of genetics which Otto Frankel had originated first but is now often considered a subdiscipline as well. The rapid decline of established biological systems around the means that conservation biology is often referred to as a Discipline with a deadline. Conservation biology is tied closely to ecology in researching the ecology of rare or endangered species. Conservation biologists work in the field and office, in government, universities, non-profit organizations, the topics of their research are diverse, because this is an interdisciplinary network with professional alliances in the biological as well as social sciences. Those dedicated to the cause and profession advocate for a response to the current biodiversity crisis based on morals, ethics. Conscious efforts to conserve and protect global biodiversity are a recent phenomenon, natural resource conservation, however, has a history that extends prior to the age of conservation. Resource ethics grew out of necessity through direct relations with nature and this social dilemma with respect to natural resource management is often called the Tragedy of the Commons. From this principle, conservation biologists can trace communal resource based ethics throughout cultures as a solution to communal resource conflict. For example, the Alaskan Tlingit peoples and the Haida of the Pacific Northwest had resource boundaries, rules and these rules were guided by clan elders who knew lifelong details of each river and stream they managed. There are numerous examples in history where cultures have followed rules, rituals, Conservation ethics are also found in early religious and philosophical writings. There are examples in the Tao, Shinto, Hindu, Islamic, in the bible, through Moses, God commanded to let the land rest from cultivation every seventh year. Before the 18th century, however, much of European culture considered it a view to admire nature. Wilderness was denigrated while agricultural development was praised, however, as early as AD680 a wildlife sanctuary was founded on the Farne Islands by St Cuthbert in response to his religious beliefs. Natural history was a preoccupation in the 18th century, with grand expeditions
6.
Restoration ecology
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Restoration ecology emerged as a separate field in ecology in the 1980s. Restoration ecology is commonly used for the academic study of the process. E. O. Wilson, a biologist states that, Here is the means to end the great extinction spasm, the next century will, I believe, be the era of restoration in ecology. Restoration ecology is the study of ecological restoration. Estimates of the current extinction rate is 1,000 to 10,000 times more than the normal rate, for many people biological diversity, has an intrinsic value that humans have a responsibility towards other living things, and an obligation to future generations. On a more level, natural ecosystems provide human society with food, fuel. Such processes have been estimated to be trillions of dollars annually. Habitat loss is the cause of both species extinctions and ecosystem service decline. The two ways to reverse trend of habitat loss are conservation of currently viable habitat and restoration of degraded habitats. The fundamental difference between restoration and other conservation efforts is analogous to the difference between disease prevention and treatment, conservation attempts to maintain and protect existing habitat and biodiversity, whereas restoration attempts to reverse existing environmental degradation and population declines. Targeted human intervention is used to promote habitat, biodiversity recovery, the possibility of restoration, however, does not provide an excuse for converting extremely valuable pristine habitat into other uses, as in medicine, it better to prevent than to treat. Though restoration ecologists and other conservation biologists generally agree that habitat is the most important locus of biodiversity protection, conservation biology as an academic discipline is rooted in population biology. Because of that, it is organized at the genetic level. Restoration ecology is organized at the community level, looking at specific ecosystems, conservation biologys focus on rare or endangered species limit the number of manipulative studies that can be performed. As a consequence, conservation studies tend to be descriptive, comparative, however, the highly manipulative nature of restoration ecology allows the researcher to test the hypotheses vigorously. Restorative activity often reflects an experimental test of what limits populations, Restoration ecology draws on a wide range of ecological concepts. Disturbance is a change of environmental conditions, which interferes with the functioning of a biological system, disturbance, at a variety of spatial and temporal scales, is a natural component of many communities. Humans have had limited natural impacts on ecosystems for as long as humans have existed, however, understanding and minimizing the differences between modern anthropogenic and natural disturbances is crucial to restoration ecology
7.
Garden design
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Garden design is the art and process of designing and creating plans for layout and planting of gardens and landscapes. Garden design may be done by the owner themselves, or by professionals of varying levels of experience. All of these considerations are subject to the limitations of the prescribed budget, a gardens location can have a substantial influence on its design. The soils of the site will affect what types of plant may be grown, as will the gardens climate zone, the locational context of the garden can also influence its design, for example an urban setting may require a different design style to a rural one. Similarly, a coastal location may necessitate a different treatment compared to a sheltered inland site. The quality of a soil can have a significant influence on a gardens design. However soils may be replaced or improved in order to them more suitable. Traditionally, garden soil is improved by amendment, the process of adding beneficial materials to the native subsoil and particularly the topsoil. The added materials, which may consist of compost, peat, sand, mineral dust, or manure, among others, are mixed with the soil to the preferred depth. The amount and type of amendment may depend on many factors, including the amount of existing soil humus, the structure, the soil acidity/alkalinity. One source states that, conditioning the soil thoroughly before planting enables the plants to establish themselves quickly, however, not all gardens are, or should be, amended in this manner, since many plants prefer an impoverished soil. In this case, poor soil is better than a soil that has been artificially enriched. The design of a garden can be affected by the nature of its boundaries, planting can be used to modify an existing boundary line by softening or widening it. Introducing internal boundaries can help divide or break up a garden into smaller areas, the main types of boundary within a garden are hedges, walls and fences. A hedge may be evergreen or deciduous, formal or informal, short or tall, depending on the style of the garden and purpose of the boundary. A wall has a strong foundation beneath it at all points, a fence differs from a wall in that it is anchored only at intervals, and is usually constructed using wood or metal. In temperate western gardens, an expanse of lawn is often considered essential to a garden. However garden designers may use other surfaces, for example those made up of gravel, small pebbles, or wood chips in order to create a different appearance
8.
Arboriculture
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Arboriculture /ˈɑːrbərᵻkʌltʃər/ is the cultivation, management, and study of individual trees, shrubs, vines, and other perennial woody plants. The science of arboriculture studies how these plants grow and respond to cultural practices, the practice of arboriculture includes cultural techniques such as selection, planting, training, fertilization, pest and pathogen control, pruning, shaping, and removal. A person who practices or studies arboriculture can be termed an arborist or an arboriculturist, a tree surgeon is more typically someone who is trained in the physical maintenance and manipulation of trees and therefore more a part of the arboriculture process rather than an arborist. Risk management, legal issues, and aesthetic considerations have come to play prominent roles in the practice of arboriculture, businesses often need to hire arboriculturists to complete tree hazard surveys and generally manage the trees on-site to fulfill occupational safety and health obligations. Harris, Richard W. Arboriculture, Care of Trees, Shrubs, englewood Cliffs, New Jersey 07632, Prentice-Hall, Inc. pp. 2–3. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Online
9.
Agriculture
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Agriculture is the cultivation and breeding of animals, plants and fungi for food, fiber, biofuel, medicinal plants and other products used to sustain and enhance human life. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of human civilization. The study of agriculture is known as agricultural science, the history of agriculture dates back thousands of years, and its development has been driven and defined by greatly different climates, cultures, and technologies. Industrial agriculture based on large-scale monoculture farming has become the dominant agricultural methodology, genetically modified organisms are an increasing component of agriculture, although they are banned in several countries. Agricultural food production and water management are increasingly becoming global issues that are fostering debate on a number of fronts, the major agricultural products can be broadly grouped into foods, fibers, fuels, and raw materials. Specific foods include cereals, vegetables, fruits, oils, meats, fibers include cotton, wool, hemp, silk and flax. Raw materials include lumber and bamboo, other useful materials are also produced by plants, such as resins, dyes, drugs, perfumes, biofuels and ornamental products such as cut flowers and nursery plants. The word agriculture is a late Middle English adaptation of Latin agricultūra, from ager, field, Agriculture usually refers to human activities, although it is also observed in certain species of ant, termite and ambrosia beetle. To practice agriculture means to use resources to produce commodities which maintain life, including food, fiber, forest products, horticultural crops. This definition includes arable farming or agronomy, and horticulture, all terms for the growing of plants, even then, it is acknowledged that there is a large amount of knowledge transfer and overlap between silviculture and agriculture. In traditional farming, the two are often combined even on small landholdings, leading to the term agroforestry, Agriculture began independently in different parts of the globe, and included a diverse range of taxa. At least 11 separate regions of the Old and New World were involved as independent centers of origin, wild grains were collected and eaten from at least 105,000 years ago. Pigs were domesticated in Mesopotamia around 15,000 years ago, rice was domesticated in China between 13,500 and 8,200 years ago, followed by mung, soy and azuki beans. Sheep were domesticated in Mesopotamia between 13,000 and 11,000 years ago. From around 11,500 years ago, the eight Neolithic founder crops, emmer and einkorn wheat, hulled barley, peas, lentils, bitter vetch, chick peas and flax were cultivated in the Levant. Cattle were domesticated from the aurochs in the areas of modern Turkey. In the Andes of South America, the potato was domesticated between 10,000 and 7,000 years ago, along with beans, coca, llamas, alpacas, sugarcane and some root vegetables were domesticated in New Guinea around 9,000 years ago. Sorghum was domesticated in the Sahel region of Africa by 7,000 years ago, cotton was domesticated in Peru by 5,600 years ago, and was independently domesticated in Eurasia at an unknown time
10.
Intensive crop farming
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Intensive crop farming is a modern form of intensive farming that refers to the industrialized production of crops. These methods are widespread in developed nations, the practice of industrial agriculture is a relatively recent development in the history of agriculture, and the result of scientific discoveries and technological advances. Innovations in agriculture beginning in the late 19th century generally parallel developments in production in other industries that characterized the latter part of the Industrial Revolution. The identification of nitrogen and phosphorus as critical factors in plant growth led to the manufacture of synthetic fertilizers, the discovery of antibiotics and vaccines facilitated raising livestock in larger numbers by reducing disease. Chemicals developed for use in World War II gave rise to synthetic pesticides, developments in shipping networks and technology have made long-distance distribution of produce feasible. High mechanization – automated machinery sustain and harvest crops, critics of intensively farmed crops cite a wide range of concerns. On the food quality front, it is held by critics that quality is reduced when crops are bred and grown primarily for cosmetic and shipping characteristics. Environmentally, industrial farming of crops is claimed to be responsible for loss of biodiversity, degradation of quality, soil erosion, food toxicity. The projects within the Green Revolution spread technologies that had already existed and these technologies included pesticides, irrigation projects, and synthetic nitrogen fertilizer. The novel technological development of the Green Revolution was the production of what some referred to as “miracle seeds. ”Scientists created strains of maize, wheat, since cereals that absorbed extra nitrogen would typically lodge, or fall over before harvest, semi-dwarfing genes were bred into their genomes. Norin 10 wheat, a variety developed by Orville Vogel from Japanese dwarf wheat varieties, was instrumental in developing Green Revolution wheat cultivars, photosynthetic investment in the stem is reduced dramatically as the shorter plants are inherently more stable mechanically. Assimilates become redirected to grain production, amplifying in particular the effect of chemical fertilisers on commercial yield, HYVs significantly outperform traditional varieties in the presence of adequate irrigation, pesticides, and fertilizers. In the absence of these inputs, traditional varieties may outperform HYVs, wheat is a grass that is cultivated worldwide. Globally, it is the most important human food grain and ranks second in production as a cereal crop behind maize. Wheat and barley were the first cereals known to have been domesticated, because of the loss of seed dispersal mechanisms, domesticated wheats have limited capacity to propagate in the wild. Agricultural cultivation using horse collar leveraged plows increased cereal grain productivity yields, with population growth rates falling, while yields continue to rise, the area devoted to wheat may now begin to decline for the first time in modern human history. Organic wheat typically halves yield attainable but costs less as there are no fertiliser, while winter wheat lies dormant during a winter freeze, wheat normally requires between 110 and 130 days between planting and harvest, depending upon climate, seed type, and soil conditions. Crop management decisions require the knowledge of stage of development of the crop, in particular, spring fertilizers applications, herbicides, fungicides, growth regulators are typically applied at specific stages of plant development
11.
Animal husbandry
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Animal husbandry is the management and care of farm animals by human beings, in which genetic qualities and behavior, considered to be advantageous to humans, are further developed. The term can refer to the practice of breeding and raising livestock to promote desirable traits in animals for utility, sport, pleasure. Animal husbandry has been practiced for thousands of years since the first domestication of animals, selective breeding for desired traits was first established as a scientific practice by Robert Bakewell during the British Agricultural Revolution in the 18th century. One of his most important breeding programs was with sheep, using native stock, he was able to quickly select for large, yet fine-boned sheep, with long, lustrous wool. The Lincoln Longwool was improved by Bakewell and in turn the Lincoln was used to develop the subsequent breed, named the New Leicester and it was hornless and had a square, meaty body with straight top lines. These sheep were exported widely and have contributed to modern breeds. Under his influence, English farmers began to breed cattle for use primarily as beef for consumption -, long-horned heifers were crossed with the Westmoreland bull to eventually create the Dishley Longhorn. Over the following decades, farm animals increased dramatically in size, in 1700, the average weight of a bull sold for slaughter was 370 pounds. By 1786, that weight had more than doubled to 840 pounds, in more modern times herds are tended on horses, all-terrain vehicles, motorbikes, four-wheel drive vehicles, and helicopters, depending on the terrain and livestock concerned. Today, herd managers often oversee thousands of animals and many staff, farms, stations and ranches may employ breeders, herd health specialists, feeders, and milkers to help care for the animals. Techniques such as artificial insemination and embryo transfer are used today, not only as methods to guarantee that females breed regularly. This may be done by transplanting embryos from high-quality females into lower-quality surrogate mothers - freeing up the higher-quality mother to be reimpregnated and this practice vastly increases the number of offspring which may be produced by a small selection of the best quality parent animals. On one hand, this improves the ability of the animals to feed to meat, milk, or fiber more efficiently. On the other, it decreases genetic diversity, increasing the severity of disease outbreaks among other risks. The semi-natural, unfertilized pastures formed by traditional methods in Europe, were managed and maintained by the grazing and mowing of livestock. Animal agriculture is responsible for 20%-33% of all fresh water consumption in the world today, livestock or livestock feed occupies 1/3 of the earth’s ice-free land. Animal agriculture is the cause of species extinction, ocean dead zones, water pollution. Animal agriculture contributes to species extinction in many ways, the widespread use of pesticides, herbicides and chemical fertilizers used in the production of feed crops often interferes with the reproductive systems of animals and poison waterways
12.
Plant propagation
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Plant propagation is the process of creating new plants from a variety of sources, seeds, cuttings, bulbs and other plant parts. Plant propagation can also refer to the artificial or natural dispersal of plants, seeds and spores can be used for reproduction. Seeds are typically produced from sexual reproduction within a species, because genetic recombination has occurred, a plant grown from seeds may have different characteristics from its parents. Some species produce seeds that require special conditions to germinate, such as cold treatment, the seeds of many Australian plants and plants from southern Africa and the American west require smoke or fire to germinate. Some plant species, including many trees do not produce seeds until they reach maturity, seeds can be difficult to acquire and some plants do not produce seed at all. Some plants (like certain Plants modified using genetic use restriction technology may produce seed, in certain cases, this is done to prevent the accidental spreading of these plants, for example by birds and other animals. Plants have a number of mechanisms for asexual or vegetative reproduction, some of these have been taken advantage of by horticulturists and gardeners to multiply or clone plants rapidly. Humans may utilize these processes as propagation methods, such as tissue culture, vegetative reproduction uses plants parts such as roots, stems and leaves. In some plants seeds can be produced without fertilization and the seeds contain only the material of the parent plant. Therefore, propagation via asexual seeds or apomixis is asexual reproduction and this can be in the form of a clear enclosed bin sitting over a hotpad, or even a portable heater pointed at the bin. The key is to keep the moisture in the bin, while keeping lighting over the top of it. An electric seed-propagation mat is a rubber mat covered by a metal cage which is used in gardening. The mats are made so that planters containing seedlings can be placed on top of the cage without the risk of starting a fire. In extreme cold, gardeners place a plastic cover over the planters/mats which creates a sort of miniature greenhouse. The constant and predictable heat allows people to garden in the months when the weather is generally too cold for seedlings to survive naturally. When combined with a system, many plants can be grown indoors using these mats. Adventitious Clonal colony Fruit tree propagation Orthodox seed Recalcitrant seed Selection methods in plant breeding based on mode of reproduction Propagation of grapevines, the Complete Book of Plant Propagation, Taunton Press,1997
13.
Turf management
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Turf management or pitchcare describes the work needed to keep a sporting pitch ready for use. This article looks at the types of sporting pitches and the type of challenges which they present. The skills needed vary considerably dependent upon the sport and whether or not artificial surfaces are used, special sets of skills are also needed to care for either sand-based athletic fields or native soil fields. There are two types of tennis court, grass and clay. The clay courts can then be divided into natural clay, hard courts, all tennis courts should ideally be a little west of true north to ensure minimum problems from sunlight. Historically very popular, they are now slowly being replaced by clay courts which offer the opportunity of year-round usage, the skills needed to maintain a grass court are considerable. Traditionally the court is split into the foundations and drainage, the soil or binding layer, all three must work together to provide the best playing surface. Maintenance of grass courts is typically split into the following areas, scarification, mechanically raising the surface turf to prevent compaction. Usually done in springtime to correct any problems from the winter weather, winter work to remedy compaction over the summer. It will encourage deep rooting as well as assisting in drainage, seeding of worn areas after the season has ended. Top dressing at the end of the season to maintain turf quality, artificial grass courts are a popular option at club level as they are weather resistant and their shock absorbing qualities help limit injuries. However they are not recommended for high levels and are expensive to maintain. The Lawn Tennis Association prices a basic court at £27,000, clay courts require water to keep from cracking. This limits their use in very dry regions. Normal maintenance is basically regular watering and rolling, to prevent the surface turning into dust, clay courts can have both sub-surface and above surface irrigation. They provide a good training surface with a medium to slow pace, the Lawn Tennis Association prices the courts at between £34,000 and £60,000 to construct. Hard courts are made from asphalt or concrete with an acrylic covering. They are also called synthetic granular courts and these courts typically provide a fast game, which means the tennis ball will bounce with a low angle
14.
Floriculture
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Floriculture, or flower farming, is a discipline of horticulture concerned with the cultivation of flowering and ornamental plants for gardens and for floristry, comprising the floral industry. The development, via plant breeding, of new varieties is an occupation of floriculturists. Floriculture crops include bedding plants, houseplants, flowering garden and pot plants, cut cultivated greens, as distinguished from nursery crops, floriculture crops are generally herbaceous. Bedding and garden plants consist of young flowering plants and vegetable plants and they are grown in cell packs, in pots, or in hanging baskets, usually inside a controlled environment, and sold largely for gardens and landscaping. Pelargonium, Impatiens, and Petunia are the best-selling bedding plants, the many cultivars of Chrysanthemum are the major perennial garden plant in the United States. Flowering plants are sold in pots for indoor use. The major flowering plants are poinsettias, orchids, florist chrysanthemums, foliage plants are also sold in pots and hanging baskets for indoor and patio use, including larger specimens for office, hotel, and restaurant interiors. Cut flowers are sold in bunches or as bouquets with cut foliage. The production of cut flowers is known as the cut flower industry. In Australia and the United States some species are harvested from the wild for the cut flower market, the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia. Retrieved September 17,2012. researchgate. net/publication/295862115_Diversification_Through_Floriculture_in_Kashmir_Valley Open Directory Project, Cut Flowers and Greens Growers
15.
Landscape architecture
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Landscape architecture is the design of outdoor public areas, landmarks, and structures to achieve environmental, social-behavioral, or aesthetic outcomes. It involves the investigation of existing social, ecological, and soil conditions and processes in the landscape. A practitioner in the profession of architecture is called a landscape architect. The most valuable contribution can be made at the first stage of a project to generate ideas with technical understanding and creative flair for the design, organization, and use of spaces. The landscape architect can conceive the concept and prepare the master plan, from which detailed design drawings. They can also review proposals to authorize and supervise contracts for the construction work, other skills include preparing design impact assessments, conducting environmental assessments and audits, and serving as an expert witness at inquiries on land use issues. e. They often work in forestry, nature conservation and agriculture, Landscape scientists have specialist skills such as soil science, hydrology, geomorphology or botany that they relate to the practical problems of landscape work. Their projects can range from surveys to the ecological assessment of broad areas for planning or management purposes. They may also report on the impact of development or the importance of species in a given area. Landscape planners are concerned with planning for the location, scenic, ecological and recreational aspects of urban. Some may also apply an additional specialism such as landscape archaeology or law to the process of landscape planning, green roof designers design extensive and intensive roof gardens for storm water management, evapo-transpirative cooling, sustainable architecture, aesthetics, and habitat creation. An example is the work by André Le Nôtre at Vaux-le-Vicomte for King Louis XIV of France at the Palace of Versailles. The first person to write of making a landscape was Joseph Addison in 1712, the term landscape architecture was invented by Gilbert Laing Meason in 1828, and John Claudius Loudon was instrumental in the adoption of the term landscape architecture by the modern profession. He took up the term from Meason and gave it publicity in his Encyclopedias and in his 1840 book on the Landscape Gardening, the practice of landscape architecture spread from the Old to the New World. IFLA was founded at Cambridge, England, in 1948 with Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe as its first president, representing 15 countries from Europe, later, in 1978, IFLAs Headquarters were established in Versailles. Through the 19th century, urban planning became a focal point, the combination of the tradition of landscape gardening and the emerging field of urban planning offered Landscape Architecture an opportunity to serve these needs. In the second half of the century, Frederick Law Olmsted completed a series of parks which continue to have an influence on the practices of Landscape Architecture today. Among these were Central Park in New York City, Prospect Park in Brooklyn, New York, jens Jensen designed sophisticated and naturalistic urban and regional parks for Chicago, Illinois, and private estates for the Ford family including Fair Lane and Gaukler Point
16.
Olericulture
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Olericulture is the science of vegetable growing, dealing with the culture of non-woody plants for food. Olericulture is the production of plants for use of the edible parts and it encompasses crop establishment, including cultivar selection, seedbed preparation and establishment of vegetable crops by seed and transplants. Agriculture – the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other forms for food, fiber. Horticulture – the industry and science of plant cultivation including the process of preparing soil for the planting of seeds, tubers, pomology – a branch of botany that studies and cultivates pome fruit, and sometimes applied more broadly, to the cultivation of any type of fruit. Trophort – a branch of horticulture that studies and cultivates plants in the tropics
17.
Vegetable
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In everyday usage, a vegetable is any part of a plant that is consumed by humans as food as part of a meal. The term vegetable is somewhat arbitrary, and largely defined through culinary and it normally excludes other food derived from plants such as fruits, nuts, and cereal grains, but includes seeds such as pulses. The original meaning of the vegetable, still used in biology, was to describe all types of plant, as in the terms vegetable kingdom. At first, plants which grew locally would have been cultivated, nowadays, most vegetables are grown all over the world as climate permits, and crops may be cultivated in protected environments in less suitable locations. China is the largest producer of vegetables and global trade in agricultural products allows consumers to purchase vegetables grown in faraway countries, the scale of production varies from subsistence farmers supplying the needs of their family for food, to agribusinesses with vast acreages of single-product crops. Depending on the type of vegetable concerned, harvesting the crop is followed by grading, storing, processing, and marketing. Vegetables can be either raw or cooked and play an important role in human nutrition, being mostly low in fat and carbohydrates. Many nutritionists encourage people to consume plenty of fruit and vegetables, the word vegetable was first recorded in English in the early 15th century. It comes from Old French, and was applied to all plants. It derives from Medieval Latin vegetabilis growing, flourishing, a change from a Late Latin meaning to be enlivening, quickening. The meaning of vegetable as a plant grown for food was not established until the 18th century, in 1767, the word was specifically used to mean a plant cultivated for food, an edible herb or root. The year 1955 saw the first use of the shortened, slang term veggie, the broadest definition is the words use adjectivally to mean matter of plant origin to distinguish it from animal, meaning matter of animal origin. More specifically, a vegetable may be defined as any plant, part of which is used for food, a secondary meaning then being the edible part of such a plant. A more precise definition is any plant part consumed for food that is not a fruit or seed, falling outside these definitions are edible fungi and edible seaweed which, although not parts of plants, are often treated as vegetables. In everyday language, the fruit and vegetable are mutually exclusive. Fruit has a precise meaning, being a part that developed from the ovary of a flowering plant. This is considerably different from the words culinary meaning, while peaches, plums, and oranges are fruit in both senses, many items commonly called vegetables, such as eggplants, bell peppers, and tomatoes, are botanically fruits. The question of whether the tomato is a fruit or a vegetable found its way into the United States Supreme Court in 1893
18.
Pomology
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Pomology is a branch of botany that studies and cultivates fruit. The denomination fruticulture—introduced from Romance languages —is also used, pomological research is mainly focused on the development, cultivation and physiological studies of fruit trees. The goals of fruit tree improvement include enhancement of quality, regulation of production periods. One involved in the science of pomology is called a pomologist, Pomology has been an important area of research for centuries. During the mid-19th century in the United States, farmers were expanding fruit orchard programs in response to growing markets. At the same time, horticulturists from the USDA and agricultural colleges were bringing new varieties to the United States from foreign expeditions, in response to this increased interest and activity, USDA established the Division of Pomology in 1886 and named Henry E. Van Deman as chief pomologist. During this period Andrew Jackson Downing and his brother Charles were prominent in Pomology and Horticulture, producing The Fruits, the introduction of new varieties required exact depiction of the fruit so that plant breeders could accurately document and disseminate their rearch results. Since the use of photography was not widespread in the late 19th Century. Many of the watercolors were used for reproductions in USDA publications, such as the Report of the Pomologist. The study of pomology has somewhat dwindled over the past century
19.
Pome
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In botany, a pome is a type of fruit produced by flowering plants in the subtribe Malinae of the family Rosaceae. The word pome entered English in the late 14th century, and it derived from the Old French word pome apple, which in turn derived from the Late Latin or Vulgar Latin word poma apple, originally the plural of Latin pomus fruit, later apple. A pome is a fruit composed of one or more carpels surrounded by accessory tissue. The accessory tissue is interpreted by some specialists as an extension of the receptacle and is referred to as fruit cortex. It is the most edible part of this fruit, the carpels of a pome are fused within the core. Although the epicarp, mesocarp, and endocarp of some other fruit types look very much like the skin, flesh, the epicarp and mesocarp of a pome may be fleshy and difficult to distinguish from one another and from the hypanthial tissue. The endocarp forms a leathery or stony case around the seed, pome-type fruit with stony rather than leathery endocarp may be called a polypyrenous drupe. The shriveled remains of the sepals, style and stamens can sometimes be seen at the end of a pome opposite the stem, the best-known example of a pome is the apple. Other examples of plants produce fruit classified as a pome are Cotoneaster, Crataegus, loquat, medlar, pear, Pyracantha, toyon, quince, rowan. Some pomes may have a texture, others are berry-like with juicy flesh
20.
Viticulture
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Viticulture is the science, production, and study of grapes. It deals with the series of events occur in the vineyard. It is a branch of the science of horticulture, for this reason, viticulture can be found on every continent except Antarctica. Viticulturists are often involved with winemakers, because vineyard management. A great number of varieties are now approved in the European Union as true grapes for wine-growing and viticulture, the earliest evidence of grape vine cultivation and winemaking dates back 7,000 years. The history of viticulture is closely related to the history of wine, evidence suggests that some of the earliest domestication of Vitis vinifera occurred in the area of the modern countries Georgia and Armenia. The oldest-known winery was discovered in the Areni-1 cave in Vayots Dzor, dated to c. 4100 BC, the site contained a wine press, fermentation vats, jars, and cups. Archaeologists also found V. vinifera seeds and vines, commenting on the importance of the find, McGovern said, The fact that winemaking was already so well developed in 4000 BC suggests that the technology probably goes back much earlier. There is also evidence of domestication in the Near East in the early Bronze Age. Evidence of ancient viticulture is provided by sources, plant remains, historical geography. The remnants of ancient wine jars have been used to determine the culture of wine consumption, in addition to winemaking, grapes have been grown for the production of raisins. With the ability to pollinate itself, over time the hermaphroditic vines were able to sire offspring that were consistently hermaphroditic, during this period, grape cultivation developed from an aspect of local consumption to an important component of international economies and trade. From 1200 BC to 900 BC, the Phoenicians developed viticulture practices that were used in Carthage. Around 500 BC, the Carthaginian writer Mago recorded such practices in a work that was one of the few artifacts to survive the Roman destruction of Carthage during the Third Punic War. The Roman statesman Cato the Elder was influenced by texts, and around 160 BC he wrote De Agricultura. Around 65 AD, the Roman writer Columella produced the most detailed work on Roman viticulture in his twelve-volume text De Re Rustica, columellas work is one of the earliest to detail trellis systems for raising vines off the ground. Columella advocated the use of stakes versus the previously accepted practice of training vines to grow up along tree trunks. Roman viticulturists were among the first to identify steep hillsides as one of the locations to plant vines, because cool air runs downhill
21.
Grape
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A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus Vitis. Grapes can be fresh as table grapes or they can be used for making wine, jam, juice, jelly, grape seed extract, raisins, vinegar. Grapes are a type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of the grape began 6, 000–8,000 years ago in the Near East. Yeast, one of the earliest domesticated microorganisms, occurs naturally on the skins of grapes, the earliest archeological evidence for a dominant position of wine-making in human culture dates from 8,000 years ago in Georgia. The oldest known winery was found in Armenia, dating to around 4000 BC, by the 9th century AD the city of Shiraz was known to produce some of the finest wines in the Middle East. Thus it has proposed that Syrah red wine is named after Shiraz. Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics record the cultivation of grapes, and history attests to the ancient Greeks, Phoenicians. The growing of grapes would later spread to regions in Europe, as well as North Africa. Vitis vinifera cultivars were imported for that purpose, Grapes are a type of fruit that grow in clusters of 15 to 300, and can be crimson, black, dark blue, yellow, green, orange, and pink. White grapes are actually green in color, and are derived from the purple grape. Mutations in two genes of white grapes turn off production of anthocyanins, which are responsible for the color of purple grapes. Anthocyanins and other pigment chemicals of the family of polyphenols in purple grapes are responsible for the varying shades of purple in red wines. Grapes are typically an ellipsoid shape resembling a prolate spheroid, most grapes come from cultivars of Vitis vinifera, the European grapevine native to the Mediterranean and Central Asia. Vitis riparia, a vine of North America, is sometimes used for winemaking. It is native to the entire Eastern U. S. Vitis rotundifolia, the muscadines, used for jams and wine, are native to the Southeastern United States from Delaware to the Gulf of Mexico. Vitis amurensis is the most important Asian species, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization,75,866 square kilometers of the world are dedicated to grapes. Approximately 71% of world production is used for wine, 27% as fresh fruit
22.
Oenology
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Oenology is the science and study of wine and winemaking, distinct from viticulture, the agricultural endeavours of vine-growing and of grape-harvesting. The English word oenology derives from the word oinos, “wine”, an increasing number of schools offer degree-granting programs in Oenology and Viticulture. Oenologists and viticulturalists who hold doctoral degrees often have earned them in related fields, including Horticulture, related non-academic titles including sommelier and Master of Wine certifications are more oriented toward commercial occupations in the restaurant or hospitality management industry. Oenologists often work as winemakers or find employment with commercial laboratories or with such as the Australian Wine Research Institute. Schools in Australia tend to offer a Bachelor of Viticulture or Masters of Viticulture degree
23.
Wine
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Wine is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented grapes. These grapes are generally Vitis vinifera, or a hybrid with Vitis labrusca or Vitis rupestris, grapes are fermented without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, water, or other nutrients. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol, different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts produce different styles of wine. These variations result from the interactions between the biochemical development of the grape, the reactions involved in fermentation, the terroir. Many countries enact legal appellations intended to define styles and qualities of wine and these typically restrict the geographical origin and permitted varieties of grapes, as well as other aspects of wine production. There are also made from fermenting other fruits or cereals. Wines made from other than grapes include rice wine and various fruit wines such as those made from plums or cherries. Some well known examples are hard cider from apples, perry from pears, pomegranate wine, Wine has been produced for thousands of years. The earliest known traces of wine from Georgia in Eurasia where 8000-year-old wine jars were found and in Iran with 7, the earliest known winery is the 6, 100-year-old Areni-1 winery Armenia. Wine reached the Balkans by 4500 BC and was consumed and celebrated in ancient Greece, Thrace, throughout history, wine has been consumed for its intoxicating effects, which are evident after the normal serving size of five ounces. Wine has long played an important role in religion, the earliest chemically attested grape wine was discovered at Hajji Firuz in the northwestern Zagros Mountains dating back to 5400 BC. The earliest evidence of a fermented drink was found in Georgia, where wine residue inside ceramic jars dates from 6000 BC. The earliest evidence of a production facility is the Areni-1 winery in Armenia and is at least 6100 years old, presumably. A2003 report by archaeologists indicates a possibility that grapes were mixed with rice to produce mixed fermented beverages in China in the years of the seventh millennium BC. Pottery jars from the Neolithic site of Jiahu, Henan, contained traces of tartaric acid, however, other fruits indigenous to the region, such as hawthorn, cannot be ruled out. The spread of wine culture westwards was most probably due to the Phoenicians who spread outward from a base of city-states along the Lebanese, Syrian, the wines of Byblos were exported to Egypt during the Old Kingdom and then throughout the Mediterranean. Evidence includes two Phoenician shipwrecks from 750 BC discovered by Robert Ballard, whose cargo of wine was still intact. As the first great traders in wine, the Phoenicians seem to have protected it from oxidation with a layer of oil, followed by a seal of pinewood and resin
24.
Winemaking
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Winemaking or vinification, is the production of wine, starting with selection of the grapes or other produce and ending with bottling the finished wine. Although most wine is made from grapes, it may also be made from fruits or plants. Mead is a wine that is made with honey being the primary ingredient after water, Winemaking can be divided into two general categories, still wine production and sparkling wine production. The science of wine and winemaking is known as oenology, a person who makes wine is traditionally called a winemaker or vintner. After the harvest, the grapes are taken into a winery, at this stage red wine making diverges from white wine making. Red wine is made from the must of red or black grapes and fermentation occurs together with the grape skins, white wine is made by fermenting juice which is made by pressing crushed grapes to extract a juice, the skins are removed and play no further role. Occasionally white wine is made from red grapes, this is done by extracting their juice with minimal contact with the grapes skins. Rosé wines are made from red grapes where the juice is allowed to stay in contact with the dark skins long enough to pick up a pinkish color or by blending red wine with white wine. White and rosé wines extract little of the contained in the skins. To start primary fermentation yeast may be added to the must for red wine or may occur naturally as ambient yeast on the grapes or in the air, yeast may be added to the juice for white wine. During this fermentation, which takes between one and two weeks, the yeast converts most of the sugars in the grape juice into ethanol. The carbon dioxide is lost to the atmosphere, after the primary fermentation of red grapes the free run wine is pumped off into tanks and the skins are pressed to extract the remaining juice and wine. The press wine is blended with the free run wine at the winemakers discretion, the wine is kept warm and the remaining sugars are converted into alcohol and carbon dioxide. The next process in the making of red wine is malo-lactic conversion and this is a bacterial process which converts crisp, green apple malic acid to soft, creamy lactic acid softening the taste of the wine. Red wine is transferred to oak barrels to mature for a period of weeks or months. The wine must be settled or clarified and adjustments made prior to bottling, the time from harvest to drinking can vary from a few months for Beaujolais nouveau wines to over twenty years for wine of good structure with high levels of acid, tannin or sugar. However, only about 10% of all red and 5% of white wine will taste better after five years than it will after just one year. Depending on the quality of grape and the wine style
25.
Postharvest
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In agriculture, postharvest handling is the stage of crop production immediately following harvest, including cooling, cleaning, sorting and packing. The instant a crop is removed from the ground, or separated from its parent plant, postharvest treatment largely determines final quality, whether a crop is sold for fresh consumption, or used as an ingredient in a processed food product. Sanitation is also an important factor, to reduce the possibility of pathogens that could be carried by fresh produce, for example, after the field, post-harvest processing is usually continued in a packing house. In mechanised harvesting, processing may begin as part of the actual harvest process. Initial post-harvest storage conditions are critical to maintaining quality, each crop has an optimum range of storage temperature and humidity. Also, certain crops cannot be stored together, as unwanted chemical interactions can result. Various methods of high-speed cooling, and sophisticated refrigerated and atmosphere-controlled environments, are employed to prolong freshness, once harvested, vegetable and fruit are subject to the active process of senescence. Numerous biochemical processes continuously change the composition of the crop until it becomes unmarketable. The period during which consumption is considered acceptable is defined as the time of postharvest shelf life, postharvest shelf life is typically determined by objective methods that determine the overall appearance, taste, flavour, and texture of the commodity. These methods usually include a combination of sensorial, biochemical, mechanical, a recent study attempted to discover a biochemical marker and fingerprint methods as indices for freshness. Postharvest physiology is the study of the physiology of living plant tissues after they have denied further nutrition by picking. It has direct applications to postharvest handling in establishing the storage, an example of the importance of the field to post-harvest handling is the discovery that ripening of fruit can be delayed, and thus their storage prolonged, by preventing fruit tissue respiration. Another well-known example is the finding that ripening may be brought on by treatment with ethylene, archived from the original on 2006-05-28. Manual for the preparation and sale of fruits and vegetables – from farm to market, FAO, Rome 2004 FAO Information Network on Post-harvest Operations INPho
26.
Decomposition
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Decomposition is the process by which organic substances are broken down into simpler matter. The process is a part of nutrient cycle and is essential for recycling the matter that occupies physical space in the biosphere. Bodies of living organisms begin to decompose shortly after death, animals, such as worms, also help decompose the organic materials. Organisms that do this are known as decomposers, although no two organisms decompose in the same way, they all undergo the same sequential stages of decomposition. The science which studies decomposition is referred to as taphonomy from the Greek word τάφος taphos. One can differentiate abiotic from biotic decomposition, the former means degradation of a substance by chemical or physical processes, e. g. hydrolysis. The latter means the metabolic breakdown of materials into simpler components by living organisms and these processes release gases, such as cadaverine and putrescine, that are the chief source of the unmistakably putrid odor of decaying animal tissue. Prime decomposers are bacteria or fungi, though larger scavengers also play an important role in decomposition if the body is accessible to insects, mites and other animals. The most important arthropods that are involved in the process include carrion beetles, mites, the most important non-insect animals that are typically involved in the process include mammal and bird scavengers, such as coyotes, dogs, wolves, foxes, rats, crows and vultures. Some of these scavengers also remove and scatter bones, which they ingest at a later time, aquatic and marine environments have break-down agents that include bacteria, fish, crustaceans, Diptera larvae and other carrion scavengers. Five general stages are used to describe the process of decomposition in vertebrate animals, fresh, bloat, active and advanced decay, the general stages of decomposition are coupled with two stages of chemical decomposition, autolysis and putrefaction. These two stages contribute to the process of decomposition, which breaks down the main components of the body. The fresh stage begins immediately after the heart stops beating, from the moment of death, the body begins cooling or warming to match the temperature of the ambient environment, during a stage called algor mortis. Shortly after death, within three to six hours, the tissues become rigid and incapable of relaxing, during a stage called rigor mortis. Once the heart stops, the blood can no longer supply oxygen or remove carbon dioxide from the tissues and this process is known as autolysis. Visible changes caused by decomposition are limited during the fresh stage and these multiply, consuming the bodys carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins, to produce a variety of substances including propionic acid, lactic acid, methane, hydrogen sulfide, and ammonia. The process of microbial proliferation within a body is referred to as putrefaction and leads to the stage of decomposition. Blowflies and flesh flies are the first carrion insects to arrive, the bloat stage provides the first clear visual sign that microbial proliferation is underway
27.
Cyrus the Great
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Cyrus II of Persia, commonly known as Cyrus the Great and also called Cyrus the Elder by the Greeks, was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire. From the Mediterranean Sea and Hellespont in the west to the Indus River in the east, under his successors, the empire eventually stretched at its maximum extent from parts of the Balkans and Eastern Europe proper in the west, to the Indus Valley in the east. His regal titles in full were The Great King, King of Persia, King of Anshan, King of Media, King of Babylon, King of Sumer and Akkad, the reign of Cyrus the Great lasted between 29 and 31 years. Cyrus built his empire by conquering first the Median Empire, then the Lydian Empire, either before or after Babylon, he led an expedition into central Asia, which resulted in major campaigns that were described as having brought into subjection every nation without exception. Cyrus did not venture into Egypt, as he died in battle. He was succeeded by his son, Cambyses II, who managed to add to the empire by conquering Egypt, Nubia, Cyrus the Great respected the customs and religions of the lands he conquered. This became a successful model for centralized administration and establishing a government working to the advantage. In fact, the administration of the empire through satraps and the principle of forming a government at Pasargadae were the works of Cyrus. Cyrus the Great is also recognized for his achievements in human rights, politics. Having originated from Persis, roughly corresponding to the modern Iranian province of Fars and this view has been criticized by some historians as a misunderstanding of the Cylinders generic nature as a traditional statement that new monarchs make at the beginning of their reign. The name Cyrus is a Latinized form derived from the Greek Κῦρος, Kỹros, the name and its meaning has been recorded in ancient inscriptions in different languages. This may also point to a relationship to the mythological first king of Persia, Jamshid. Karl Hoffmann has suggested a translation based on the meaning of an Indo-European-root to humiliate, in the Persian language and especially in Iran, Cyruss name is spelled as کوروش. In the Bible, he is known as Koresh, the Persian domination and kingdom in the Iranian plateau started by an extension of the Achaemenid dynasty, who expanded their earlier domination possibly from the 9th century BC onward. The eponymous founder of dynasty was Achaemenes. Achaemenids are descendants of Achaemenes as Darius the Great, the king of the dynasty, traces his genealogy to him. Ancient documents mention that Teispes had a son called Cyrus I, Cyrus I had a full brother whose name is recorded as Ariaramnes. In 600 BC, Cyrus I was succeeded by his son, Cambyses I, Cyrus the Great was a son of Cambyses I, who named his son after his father, Cyrus I
28.
Luther Burbank
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Luther Burbank was an American botanist, horticulturist and pioneer in agricultural science. He developed more than 800 strains and varieties of plants over his 55-year career, Burbanks varied creations included fruits, flowers, grains, grasses, and vegetables. He developed a spineless cactus and the plumcot, a natural genetic variant of the Burbank potato with russet-colored skin later became known as the Russet Burbank potato. This large, brown-skinned, white-fleshed potato has become the worlds predominant potato in food processing, the Russet Burbank potato was in fact invented to help with the devastating situation in Ireland during the Irish Potato famine. This particular potato variety was created by Burbank to help revive the countrys leading crop as it is blight-resistant. The blight is a disease spread and destroyed potatoes all across Europe. Born in Lancaster, Massachusetts, Burbank grew up on a farm, the thirteenth of eighteen children, he enjoyed the plants in his mothers large garden. His father died when he was 21 years old, and Burbank used his inheritance to buy a 17-acre plot of land near Lunenburg center, there, he developed the Burbank potato. Burbank sold the rights to the Burbank potato for $150 and used the money to travel to Santa Rosa, California, later, a natural vegetative sport of Burbank potato with russetted skin was selected and named Russet Burbank potato. Today, the Russet Burbank potato is the most widely cultivated potato in the United States, a large percentage of McDonalds french fries are made from this cultivar. Later he purchased an 18-acre plot of land in the town of Sebastopol. In that same year, Stark Bros Nurseries & Orchards Co. discovered the Delicious apple, the oddly-shaped apple attracted the attention of Burbank, a famed grafter and budder of trees, plants and flowers. He called the new Delicious variety “the finest-flavored apple in all the world. ”It was also in 1893 that the Starks began their storied cooperation with Luther Burbank and his fantastic new varieties of fruits. Among those with the foresight to recognize the possibilities of Burbank’s work was Clarence McDowell Stark, after talking to him in Santa Rosa and seeing the results of his experiments, Clarence was convinced that Burbank was right and his professorial critics were wrong. To Clarence’s great dismay, he saw that Luther Burbank was operating a small seed and nursery business in an attempt to finance his experiments and it was clear that he would never be able to realize his potential under these meager circumstances. Clarence said to Burbank, “I don’t think you ever make a real success in the nursery business because your heart is not in it. But if you will carry forward the type of hybridizing you are doing, in return, he later joined with Thomas Edison to support Paul Stark Sr. in his fight to get patent legislation passed for plant breeders. Along with Clarence’s $9,000 worth of help, Luther also had something of a fan club — The Luther Burbank Society, the group took it upon themselves to publish his discoveries and manage his business affairs, affording him some additional means by which to live
29.
Hunter-gatherer
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A hunter-gatherer is a human living in a society in which most or all food is obtained by foraging, in contrast to agricultural societies, which rely mainly on domesticated species. Hunting and gathering was humanitys first and most successful adaptation, occupying at least 90 percent of human history, following the invention of agriculture, hunter-gatherers who did not change have been displaced or conquered by farming or pastoralist groups in most parts of the world. Only a few contemporary societies are classified as hunter-gatherers, and many supplement their activity with horticulture and/or keeping animals. In the 1970s, Lewis Binford suggested that humans were obtaining food via scavenging. Early humans in the Lower Paleolithic lived in forests and woodlands, which allowed them to collect seafood, eggs, nuts, and fruits besides scavenging. Rather than killing large animals for meat, according to this view and this hypothesis does not necessarily contradict the scavenging hypothesis, both subsistence strategies could have been in use – sequentially, alternating or even simultaneously. It remained the only mode of subsistence until the end of the Mesolithic period some 10,000 years ago and this specialization of work also involved creating specialized tools such as, fishing nets, hooks, and bone harpoons. The transition into the subsequent Neolithic period is defined by the unprecedented development of nascent agricultural practices. Agriculture originated and spread in different areas including the Middle East, Asia, Mesoamerica. Forest gardening was also being used as a production system in various parts of the world over this period. Forest gardens originated in prehistoric times along jungle-clad river banks and in the wet foothills of monsoon regions, in the gradual process of families improving their immediate environment, useful tree and vine species were identified, protected and improved, whilst undesirable species were eliminated. Eventually superior introduced species were selected and incorporated into the gardens, many groups continued their hunter-gatherer ways of life, although their numbers have continually declined, partly as a result of pressure from growing agricultural and pastoral communities. Many of them reside in the world, either in arid regions or tropical forests. Areas that were available to hunter-gatherers were—and continue to be—encroached upon by the settlements of agriculturalists. In the resulting competition for use, hunter-gatherer societies either adopted these practices or moved to other areas. In addition, Jared Diamond has blamed a decline in the availability of wild foods, as the number and size of agricultural societies increased, they expanded into lands traditionally used by hunter-gatherers. As a result of the now near-universal human reliance upon agriculture, archaeologists can use evidence such as stone tool use to track hunter-gatherer activities, including mobility. Most hunter-gatherers are nomadic or semi-nomadic and live in temporary settlements, mobile communities typically construct shelters using impermanent building materials, or they may use natural rock shelters, where they are available
30.
Milpa
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Milpa is a crop-growing system used throughout Mesoamerica. It has been most extensively described in the Yucatán peninsula area of Mexico, the word milpa is derived from the Nahuatl word phrase mil-pa, which translates into maize field. Though different interpretations are given to it, it refers to a cropping field. Based on the ancient agricultural methods of Maya peoples and other Mesoamerican people, milpa agriculture produces maize, beans, the milpa cycle calls for 2 years of cultivation and eight years of letting the area lie fallow. The word is used for a small field, especially in Mexico or Central America, that is cleared from the jungle, cropped for a few seasons. In the states of Jalisco, Michoacán, and other areas of central Mexico, in El Salvador and Guatemala, it refers specifically to the corn crop or corn field as a whole. Milpa crops are nutritionally and environmentally complementary, maize lacks the amino acids lysine and tryptophan, which the body needs to make proteins and niacin. Beans have both lysine and tryptophan, squashes, for their part, provide an array of vitamins, avocados, fats. The milpa, in the estimation of H. Garrison Wilkes, the concept of milpa is a sociocultural construct rather than simply a system of agriculture. It involves complex interactions and relationships between farmers, as well as personal relationships with both the crops and land. For example, it has noted that the making of milpa is the central, most sacred act, one which binds together the family, the community. Forms the core institution of Indian society in Mesoamerica and its religious and social importance often appear to exceed its nutritional, milpitas, California derives its name from the Nahuatl term milpa followed by the Spanish feminine diminutive plural suffix -itas
31.
Mesoamerica
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It is one of six areas in the world where ancient civilization arose independently, and the second in the Americas along with Norte Chico in present-day northern coastal Peru. As a cultural area, Mesoamerica is defined by a mosaic of cultural traits developed and shared by its indigenous cultures, while Mesoamerican civilization did know of the wheel and basic metallurgy, neither of these technologies became culturally important. Among the earliest complex civilizations was the Olmec culture, which inhabited the Gulf coast of Mexico and extended inland, frequent contact and cultural interchange between the early Olmec and other cultures in Chiapas, Guatemala and Oaxaca laid the basis for the Mesoamerican cultural area. All this was facilitated by considerable regional communications in ancient Mesoamerica and this Formative period saw the spread of distinct religious and symbolic traditions, as well as artistic and architectural complexes. In the subsequent Preclassic period, complex urban polities began to develop among the Maya, with the rise of such as El Mirador, Calakmul and Tikal. Mesoamerica is one of three regions of the world where writing is known to have independently developed. Upon the collapse of Teotihuacán around AD600, competition between several important political centers in central Mexico, such as Xochicalco and Cholula, ensued. During the early period, Central Mexico was dominated by the Toltec culture, Oaxaca by the Mixtec. Towards the end of the period, the Aztecs of Central Mexico built a tributary empire covering most of central Mesoamerica. The distinct Mesoamerican cultural tradition ended with the Spanish conquest in the 16th century, over the next centuries, Mesoamerican indigenous cultures were gradually subjected to Spanish colonial rule. The exact geographic extent of Mesoamerica has varied through time, as the civilization extended North and South from its heartland in southern Mexico, Mesoamerica is recognized as a near-prototypical cultural area, and the term is now fully integrated in the standard terminology of pre-Columbian anthropological studies. Conversely, the sister terms Aridoamerica and Oasisamerica, which refer to northern Mexico, 10° and 22° northern latitude, Mesoamerica possesses a complex combination of ecological systems, topographic zones, and environmental contexts. A main distinction groups these different niches into two categories, the lowlands and the altiplanos, or highlands. In the low-lying regions, sub-tropical and tropical climates are most common, as is true for most of the coastline along the Pacific and Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. The highlands show much more diversity, ranging from dry tropical to cold mountainous climates. The rainfall varies from the dry Oaxaca and north Yucatan to the humid southern Pacific, several distinct sub-regions within Mesoamerica are defined by a convergence of geographic and cultural attributes. These sub-regions are more conceptual than culturally meaningful, and the demarcation of their limits is not rigid, the Maya area, for example, can be divided into two general groups, the lowlands and highlands. The lowlands are further divided into the southern and northern Maya lowlands, the southern Maya lowlands are generally regarded as encompassing northern Guatemala, southern Campeche and Quintana Roo in Mexico, and Belize
32.
Biochar
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Biochar is charcoal used as a soil amendment. Biochar is a solid, rich in carbon, and can endure in soil for thousands of years. Like most charcoal, biochar is made from biomass via pyrolysis, Biochar is under investigation as an approach to carbon sequestration. Biochar thus has the potential to mitigate climate change via carbon sequestration. Independently, biochar can increase soil fertility of soils, increase agricultural productivity. Its potential benefits have at times been oversold, pre-Columbian Amazonians are believed to have used biochar to enhance soil productivity. They seem to have produced it by smoldering agricultural waste in pits or trenches, European settlers called it terra preta de Indio. The term “biochar” was coined by Peter Read to describe charcoal used as a soil improvement, the specific yield from the pyrolysis is dependent on process conditions. Such as temperature, and can be optimized to produce energy or biochar. Temperatures of 400–500 °C produce more char, while temperatures above 700 °C favor the yield of liquid, pyrolysis occurs more quickly at the higher temperatures, typically requiring seconds instead of hours. High temperature pyrolysis is also known as gasification, and produces primarily syngas, typical yields are 60% bio-oil, 20% biochar, and 20% syngas. By comparison, slow pyrolysis can produce more char, it is this which contributes to the observed soil fertility of terra preta. Once initialized, both processes produce net energy, for typical inputs, the energy required to run a “fast” pyrolyzer is approximately 15% of the energy that it outputs. Modern pyrolysis plants can use the created by the pyrolysis process. The Amazonian pit/trench method harvests neither bio-oil nor syngas, and releases a large amount of CO2, black carbon, commercial-scale systems process agricultural waste, paper byproducts, and even municipal waste and typically eliminate these side effects by capturing and using the liquid and gas products. The production of biochar as an output is not a priority in most cases, in a centralized system, all biomass in a region is brought to a central plant for processing. Alternatively, each farmer or group of farmers can operate a lower-tech kiln, finally, a truck equipped with a pyrolyzer can move from place to place to pyrolyze biomass. Vehicle power comes from the stream, while the biochar remains on the farm
33.
Terra preta
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Terra preta is a type of very dark, fertile manmade soil found in the Amazon Basin. It is also known as Amazonian dark earth or Indian black earth, in Portuguese its full name is terra preta do índio or terra preta de índio. Terra mulata is lighter or brownish in colour, Terra preta owes its characteristic black color to its weathered charcoal content, and was made by adding a mixture of charcoal, bone, and manure to the otherwise relatively infertile Amazonian soil. A product of indigenous soil management and slash-and-char agriculture, the charcoal is very stable and remains in the soil for thousands of years, binding and retaining minerals, fertile soils such as terra preta show high levels of microorganic activities and other specific characteristics within particular ecosystems. Terra preta zones are generally surrounded by terra comum, or common soil, these are infertile soils, mainly acrisols, Terra preta soils are of pre-Columbian nature and were created by humans between 450 BCE and 950 CE. The soils depth can reach 2 meters, the origins of the Amazonian dark earths were not immediately clear to later settlers. One idea was that they resulted from ashfall from volcanoes in the Andes, another theory considered its formation to be a result of sedimentation in tertiary lakes or in recent ponds. Many terra preta soil structures are now thought to have formed under kitchen middens. However, due to the demand for valuable charcoal the intentional creation of terra preta is undisputed. Areas used for growing crops around living areas are referred to as terra mulata, Terra mulata soils are more fertile than surrounding soils but less fertile than terra preta, and were most likely intentionally improved using charcoal. This type of soil appeared between 450 BCE and 950 CE at sites throughout the Amazon Basin and these populations left no lasting monuments, possibly because they used local wood as their construction material, which would have rotted in the humid climate. Moreover, many indigenous peoples adapted to a mobile lifestyle in order to escape colonialism. This might have made the benefits of terra preta, such as its self-renewing capacity, slash-and-char might have been an adaptation to these conditions. It is believed that the civilization was later devastated by the spread of diseases from Europe, the evidence to support this claim comes from the discovery of numerous geoglyphs dating between 0–1250 CE and terra preta. There is ample evidence for complex large-scale, pre-Columbian social formations, including chiefdoms, in areas of Amazonia and even large towns. For instance the pre-Columbian culture on the island of Marajó may have developed social stratification, amazonians may have used terra preta to make the land suitable for the large scale agriculture needed to support large populations and complex social formations such as chiefdoms. Terra preta exists in small plots averaging 20 hectares, but areas of almost 360 hectares have also been reported and they are found among various climatic, geological, and topographical situations. Their distributions either follow main water courses, from East Amazonia to the basin, or are located on interfluvial sites
34.
Slash-and-burn
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Slash-and-burn agriculture, or fire–fallow cultivation, is a farming method that involves the cutting and burning of plants in a forest or woodland to create a field called a swidden. In subsistence agriculture, slash-and-burn typically uses little technology and it is often applied in shifting cultivation agriculture and in transhumance livestock herding. Slash-and-burn is used by 200–500 million people worldwide, in 2004 it was estimated that in Brazil alone,500,000 small farmers each cleared an average of one hectare of forest per year. The technique is not scalable or sustainable for large human populations, methods such as Inga alley farming have been proposed as alternatives which would cause less environmental degradation. Historically, slash-and-burn cultivation has been practiced throughout much of the world and this happened in the river valleys of Egypt and Mesopotamia. Due to this decrease in food hunting, as human populations increased. Some groups could easily plant their crops in fields along river valleys. In this context, humans used slash-and-burn agriculture to more land to make it suitable for plants. Thus, since Neolithic times, slash-and-burn techniques have been used for converting forests into crop fields. Fire was used before the Neolithic as well, and by hunter-gatherers up to present times, clearings created by fire were made for many reasons, such as to draw game animals and to promote certain kinds of edible plants such as berries. Slash-and-burn fields are used and owned by a family until the soil is exhausted. At this point the ownership rights are abandoned, the family clears a new field, after a few decades, another family or clan may then use the land and claim usufructuary rights. In such a system there is no market in farmland, so land is not bought or sold in the open market. In slash-and-burn agriculture, forests are typically cut months before a dry season, the slash is permitted to dry, and then burned in the following dry season. The resulting ash fertilizes the soil and the field is then planted at the beginning of the next rainy season with crops such as upland rice, maize, cassava. Most of this work is typically done by hand, using basic tools as machetes, axes, hoes. Large families or clans wandering in the lush woodlands long continued to be the most common form of life through human prehistory, axes to fell trees and sickles for harvesting grain were the only tools people might bring with them. All other tools were made from materials found at the site, such as fire stakes of birch, long rods
35.
Plains Indians
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Plains Indians are usually divided into two broad classifications which overlap to some degree. The first group became a nomadic horse culture during the 18th and 19th centuries, following the vast herds of buffalo. These include the Blackfoot, Arapaho, Assiniboine, Cheyenne, Comanche, Crow, Gros Ventre, Kiowa, Lakota, Lipan, Plains Apache, Plains Cree, Plains Ojibwe, Sarsi, Nakoda, and Tonkawa. The second group of Plains Indians were semi-sedentary, and, in addition to hunting buffalo, they lived in villages, raised crops, and actively traded with other tribes. These include the Arikara, Hidatsa, Iowa, Kaw, Kitsai, Mandan, Missouria, Omaha, Osage, Otoe, Pawnee, Ponca, Quapaw, Wichita, and the Santee Dakota, Yanktonai and Yankton Dakota. Both groups included people indigenous to the region as well as those who were pushed west by population pressure linked to the expansion of white culture. Indigenous peoples of the Great Plains are often separated into Northern and Southern Plains tribes, the tribes followed the seasonal grazing and migration of buffalo. The Plains Indians lived in teepees because they were disassembled and allowed the nomadic life of following game. When horses were obtained, the Plains tribes rapidly integrated them into their daily lives, people in the southwest began to acquire horses in the 16th century by trading or stealing them from Spanish colonists in New Mexico. As horse culture moved northward, the Comanche were among the first to commit to a fully mounted nomadic lifestyle and this occurred by the 1730s, when they had acquired enough horses to put all their people on horseback. The Spanish explorer Francisco Vásquez de Coronado was the first European to describe the Plains Indian culture, while searching for a reputedly wealthy land called Quivira in 1541, Coronado came across the Querechos in the Texas panhandle. The Querechos were the later called Apache. According to the Spaniards, the Querechos lived in tents made of the skins of the cows. They empty a large gut and fill it with blood, Coronado described many common features of Plains Indians culture, skin tepees, travois pulled by dogs, Plains Indian Sign Language, and staple foods such as jerky and pemmican. The Plains Indians found by Coronado had not yet obtained horses, by the 19th century, the typical year of the Lakota and other northern nomads was a communal buffalo hunt as early in spring as their horses had recovered from the rigors of the winter. In June and July the scattered bands of the gathered together into large encampments. These gatherings afforded leaders to meet to make decisions, plan movements, arbitrate disputes. In the fall, people would split up into smaller bands to facilitate hunting to procure meat for the long winter, between the fall hunt and the onset of winter was a time when Lakota warriors could undertake raiding and warfare
36.
Maya civilization
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The Maya civilization developed in an area that encompasses southeastern Mexico, all of Guatemala and Belize, and the western portions of Honduras and El Salvador. The Archaic period, prior to 2000 BC, saw the first developments in agriculture, the first Maya cities developed around 750 BC, and by 500 BC these cities possessed monumental architecture, including large temples with elaborate stucco façades. Hieroglyphic writing was being used in the Maya region by the 3rd century BC, in the Late Preclassic a number of large cities developed in the Petén Basin, and Kaminaljuyu rose to prominence in the Guatemalan Highlands. Beginning around 250 AD, the Classic period is defined as when the Maya were raising sculpted monuments with Long Count dates. This period saw the Maya civilization develop a number of city-states linked by a complex trade network. In the Maya Lowlands two great rivals, Tikal and Calakmul, became powerful, the Classic period also saw the intrusive intervention of the central Mexican city of Teotihuacan in Maya dynastic politics. In the 9th century, there was a political collapse in the central Maya region, resulting in internecine warfare, the abandonment of cities. The Postclassic period saw the rise of Chichen Itza in the north, in the 16th century, the Spanish Empire colonized the Mesoamerican region, and a lengthy series of campaigns saw the fall of Nojpetén, the last Maya city in 1697. Classic period rule was centred on the concept of the divine king, kingship was patrilineal, and power would normally pass to the eldest son. A prospective king was expected to be a successful war leader. Maya politics was dominated by a system of patronage, although the exact political make-up of a kingdom varied from city-state to city-state. By the Late Classic, the aristocracy had greatly increased, resulting in the reduction in the exclusive power of the divine king. Maya cities tended to expand haphazardly, and the city centre would be occupied by ceremonial and administrative complexes, different parts of a city would often be linked by causeways. The principal architecture of the city consisted of palaces, pyramid-temples, ceremonial ballcourts, the Maya elite were literate, and developed a complex system of hieroglyphic writing that was the most advanced in the pre-Columbian Americas. The Maya recorded their history and ritual knowledge in screenfold books, there are also a great many examples of Maya text found on stelae and ceramics. The Maya developed a complex series of interlocking ritual calendars. As a part of their religion, the Maya practised human sacrifice, the Maya civilization developed within the Mesoamerican cultural area, which covers a region that spreads from northern Mexico southwards into Central America. Mesoamerica was one of six cradles of civilization worldwide, the Mesoamerican area gave rise to a series of cultural developments that included complex societies, agriculture, cities, monumental architecture, writing, and calendrical systems
37.
Papaya
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The papaya, papaw, or pawpaw is the plant Carica papaya, one of the 22 accepted species in the genus Carica of the family Caricaceae. It is native to the tropics of the Americas, perhaps from southern Mexico and it was first cultivated in Mexico several centuries before the emergence of the Mesoamerican classical civilizations. The papaya is a small, sparsely branched tree, usually with a stem growing from 5 to 10 m tall. The lower trunk is conspicuously scarred where leaves and fruit were borne, the leaves are large, 50–70 cm in diameter, deeply palmately lobed, with seven lobes. All parts of the plant contain latex in articulated laticifers, unusually for such large plants, the trees are dioecious. The flowers are 5-parted and highly dimorphic, the flowers with the stamens fused to the petals. The female flowers have a superior ovary and five contorted petals loosely connected at the base, male and female flowers are borne in the leaf axils, the males in multiflowered dichasia, the female flowers is few-flowered dichasia. The flowers are sweet-scented, open at night and are moth-pollinated, the fruit is a large berry about 15–45 cm long and 10–30 cm in diameter. It is ripe when it feels soft and its skin has attained an amber to orange hue, Papaya is native to Mexico and extends to South America and has become naturalized throughout the Caribbean Islands, Florida and several countries of Africa. Additional crops are grown in India, Australia, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Papaya plants grow in three sexes, male, female, hermaphrodite. The male produces only pollen, never fruit, the female will produce small, inedible fruits unless pollinated. The hermaphrodite can self-pollinate since its flowers contain both male stamens and female ovaries, almost all commercial papaya orchards contain only hermaphrodites. Originally from southern Mexico, Central America, and northern South America, in cultivation, it grows rapidly, fruiting within three years. It is, however, highly frost-sensitive, limiting its production to tropical climates, temperatures below −2 °C are greatly harmful if not fatal. In Florida and California, growth is limited to southern parts of the states. It prefers sandy, well-drained soil, as standing water will kill the plant within 24 hours, India and Brazil are the major producers of papaya, together providing 57% of the world total of 12.4 million tons in 2013. Gaining in popularity among tropical fruits worldwide, papaya is now ranked fourth in total tropical fruit production after bananas, oranges, global papaya production has grown significantly over the last few years, mainly as a result of increased production in India. Papaya has become an important agricultural export for developing countries, where export revenues of the fruit provide a livelihood for thousands of people, especially in Asia, Carica papaya was the first transgenic fruit tree to have its genome sequenced
38.
Avocado
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The avocado is a tree that is native to South Central Mexico, classified as a member of the flowering plant family Lauraceae. Avocado also refers to the fruit, which is botanically a large berry containing a single seed. Avocados are commercially valuable and are cultivated in tropical and Mediterranean climates throughout the world and they have a green-skinned, fleshy body that may be pear-shaped, egg-shaped, or spherical. Avocado trees are partially self-pollinating and are propagated through grafting to maintain a predictable quality and quantity of the fruit. The native, undomesticated variety is known as a criollo, and is small, with black skin. It probably coevolved with extinct megafauna, the oldest evidence of avocado use was found in a cave located in Coxcatlán, Puebla, Mexico, that dates to around 10,000 BC. The avocado tree also has a history of cultivation in Central and South America. A water jar shaped like an avocado, dating to AD900, was discovered in the city of Chan Chan. The earliest known account of the avocado in Europe is that of Martín Fernández de Enciso in 1519 in his book. The first written record in English of the use of the avocado was by Hans Sloane in a 1696 index of Jamaican plants. The plant was introduced to Indonesia in 1750, Brazil in 1809, South Africa and Australia in the late 19th century, and the Levant in 1908. The word avocado comes from the Spanish aguacate, which in turn comes from the Nahuatl word āhuacatl, sometimes the Nahuatl word was used with the meaning testicle, probably because of the likeness between the fruit and the body part. The modern English name is not etymologically related to the similar-sounding Spanish word abogado, meaning lawyer, the earliest known written use in English is attested from 1697 as avogato pear, a term which was later corrupted as alligator pear. Because the word sounded like advocate, several languages reinterpreted it to have that meaning. In other Central American and Caribbean Spanish-speaking countries, it is known by the Mexican name, while South American Spanish-speaking countries use a Quechua-derived word, the fruit is sometimes called an avocado pear or alligator pear. The Nahuatl ahuacatl can be compounded with words, as in ahuacamolli, meaning avocado soup or sauce. In the United Kingdom, the term avocado pear is still sometimes misused as applied when avocados first became available in the 1960s. It is known as fruit in parts of India and goes by the name bơ in Vietnamese
39.
Theobroma cacao
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Its seeds, cocoa beans, are used to make cocoa mass, cocoa powder, confectionery, ganache and chocolate. Leaves are alternate, entire, unlobed, 10–40 cm long, the flowers are produced in clusters directly on the trunk and older branches, this is known as cauliflory. The flowers are small, 1–2 cm diameter, with pink calyx, the floral formula is ✶ K5 C5 A G. While many of the flowers are pollinated by bees or butterflies/moths, cacao flowers are pollinated by tiny flies. Having the natural pollinator Forcipomyia midges for Theobroma cacao was shown to have more fruit production than using artificial pollinators. The fruit, called a pod, is ovoid, 15–30 cm long and 8–10 cm wide, ripening yellow to orange. The pod contains 20 to 60 seeds, usually called beans, the seeds are the main ingredient of chocolate, while the pulp is used in some countries to prepare refreshing juice, smoothies, jelly, and nata. The fermented pulp, until recently discarded in Ecuador, the Dominican Republic, each seed contains a significant amount of fat as cocoa butter. Their most noted active constituent is theobromine, a similar to caffeine. Small amounts of cocoa flavanol, a natural nutrient found in cocoa, has found to increase oxygen flow to the cerebral. Compounds found in Theobroma cacao have also found to have other substances that are beneficial for health such as proanthocyanidins. Proanthocyanidin is a compound made by the plant that is not needed directly for growth, but it has been found to promote antiviral, antibacterial. Pectin is a field of study that many land plants grow including Theobroma cacao. Pectin from Theobroma cacao has antimicrobial effects and has the potential to be used in the pharmaceutical, nutritional, pectin can be extracted from Theobroma cacao with a variety ways but two ways involve using aqueous nitric acid or boiling water. Cacao belongs to the genus Theobroma classified under the subfamily Sterculioidea of the mallow family Malvaceae, Cacao is one of 22 species of Theobroma. The generic name is derived from the Greek for food of the gods, from θεός, meaning god, the specific name cacao is derived from the native name of the plant in indigenous Mesoamerican languages. The cacao was known as kakaw in Tzeltal, K’iche’ and Classic Maya, kagaw in Sayula Popoluca, cupuaçu, Theobroma grandiflorum, is a closely related species found in Brazil, Colombia, Peru and Bolivia. Like cacao, it is also the source for a kind of known as cupulate or cupuaçu chocolate
40.
Ceiba
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Ceiba is the name of a genus of many species of large trees found in tropical areas, including Mexico, Central America, South America, the Caribbean, West Africa, and Southeast Asia. Some species can grow to 70 m tall or more, with a straight, largely branchless trunk that culminates in a huge, spreading canopy, the best-known, and most widely cultivated, species is Kapok, Ceiba pentandra, one of several trees called kapok. Recent botanical opinion incorporates Chorisia within Ceiba, raising the number of species from 10 to 20 or more, Ceiba species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species, including the leaf-miner Bucculatrix ceibae, which feeds exclusively on the genus. The tree figures an important part in the mythologies of pre-Columbian Mesoamerican cultures, for example, several Amazonian tribes of eastern Peru believe deities live in Ceiba tree species throughout the jungle. The Maya civilization believed, Yaaxché, a concept of the world tree is often depicted as a Ceiba trunk, which connects the planes of the Underworld, the terrestrial realm. The unmistakable thick conical thorns in clusters on the trunk were reproduced by the southern lowland Maya of the Classical Period on cylindrical ceramic burial urns or incense holders, modern Maya still often respectfully leave the tree standing when harvesting forest timber. The Ceiba tree is represented by a cross and serves as an important architectural motif in the Temple of the Cross Complex at Palenque. Ceiba Tree Park located in San Antón, Ponce, Puerto Rico, its centerpiece is the historic Ceiba de Ponce, in 1525, Spanish Conquistador Hernán Cortés ordered the hanging of Aztec emperor Cuauhtemoc from a Ceiba tree after overtaking his empire. The town of Chiapa de Corzo, Chiapas, Mexico was founded in 1528 by the Spanish around La Pochota, Ceiba pentandra, founded in 1838, the Puerto Rican town of Ceiba is also named after this tree. The Honduran city of La Ceiba founded in 1877 was named after a particular Ceiba tree that grew down by the old docks. In 1898, the Spanish Army in Cuba surrendered to the United States under a Ceiba, Ceiba is also the national tree of Guatemala. The most important Ceiba in Guatemala is known as La Ceiba de Palín Escuintla which is over 400 years old. In Caracas, Venezuela there is a 100-year-old ceiba tree in front of the San Francisco Church knownas La Ceiba de San Francisco and is an important element in the history of the city. Ceiba pentandra produces a light and strong fiber used throughout history to fill mattresses, pillows, tapestries, Kapok has recently been replaced in commercial use by synthetic fibers. The Ceiba tree seed is used to extract oils used to make soap, the Ceiba is continued to be commercialized in Asia especially in Java, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines. Ceiba pentandra is the theme in the book titled, The Great Kapok Tree by Lynne Cherry. Ceiba insignis and Ceiba speciosa are added to versions of the hallucinogenic drink Ayahuasca. Pablo Antonio Cuadra a Nicaraguan poet wrote a chapter about the Ceiba tree and he used it as a symbol of the Nicaraguan ancestral roots, a cradle for the nation, and source during the peoples exile
41.
Manilkara zapota
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Manilkara zapota, commonly known as the sapodilla, is a long-lived, evergreen tree native to southern Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. An example natural occurrence is in coastal Yucatán in the Petenes mangroves ecoregion and it was introduced to the Philippines during Spanish colonization. It is grown in quantities in Pakistan, India, Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Indonesia, Bangladesh. The name zapota from the Spanish zapote ultimately derives from the Nahuatl word tzapotl, Sapodilla can grow to more than 30 m tall with an average trunk diameter of 1.5 m. The average height of cultivated specimens, however, is usually between 9 and 15 m with a diameter not exceeding 50 cm. It is wind-resistant and the bark is rich in a white, the ornamental leaves are medium green and glossy. They are alternate, elliptic to ovate, 7–15 cm long, the white flowers are inconspicuous and bell-like, with a six-lobed corolla. An unripe fruit has an outer skin and when picked. A fully ripened fruit has saggy skin and does not release chicle when picked, the fruit is a large berry, 4–8 cm in diameter. Inside, its flesh ranges from a yellow to an earthy brown color with a grainy texture akin to that of a well-ripened pear. Each fruit contains one to six seeds, the seeds are hard, glossy, and black, resembling beans, with a hook at one end that can catch in the throat if swallowed. The fruit has a sweet, malty flavor. The unripe fruit is hard to the touch and contains high amounts of saponin, the trees can only survive in warm, typically tropical environments, dying easily if the temperature drops below freezing. From germination, the tree will usually take anywhere from five to eight years to bear fruit. The sapodilla trees yield fruit twice a year, though flowering may continue year round and it is called ciku in standard Malay and sawo nilo in Kelantanese Malay. Compounds extracted from the leaves showed anti-diabetic, antioxidant and hypocholesterolemic effects in rats, acetone extracts of the seeds exhibited considerable antibacterial effects against strains of Pseudomonas oleovorans and Vibrio cholerae. Synonyms of this include, Sapote CRFG Publications, Sapodilla Sapodilla
42.
Royal Horticultural Society
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The Royal Horticultural Society was founded in 1804 in London, England, as the Horticultural Society of London, and gained its present name in a Royal Charter granted in 1861. The Royal Horticultural Society is the UKs leading gardening charity and claims to be the world’s largest gardening charity, the RHS quotes its charitable purpose as The encouragement and improvement of the science, art and practice of horticulture in all its branches. The current Director General is Sue Biggs, the charity promotes horticulture through flower shows such as the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, Hampton Court Palace Flower Show, RHS Tatton Park Flower Show and RHS Cardiff Flower Show. It also supports training for professional and amateur gardeners, the creation of a British horticultural society was suggested by John Wedgwood in 1800. The society would also award prizes for gardening achievements, Wedgwood discussed the idea with his friends, but it was four years before the first meeting, of seven men, took place, on 7 March 1804 at Hatchards bookshop in Piccadilly, London. Banks proposed his friend Thomas Andrew Knight for membership, the proposal was accepted, despite Knights ongoing feud with Forsyth over a plaster for healing tree wounds which Forsyth was developing. Knight was President of the society from 1811–1838, and developed the societys aims, in 2009, more than 363,000 people were members of the society, and the number increased to more than 414,000 in 2013. Membership and fellowship of the society were previously decided by election, Fellowship may be secured through a suggested £5,000 donation each year. Members and Fellows of the Royal Horticultural Society are entitled to use the post-nominal letters MRHS and FRHS, respectively. The Royal Horticultural Societys four major gardens in England are, Wisley Garden, near Wisley in Surrey, Rosemoor Garden in Devon, Hyde Hall in Essex and Harlow Carr in Harrogate, the Societys first garden was in Kensington, from 1818–1822. In 1821 the society leased part of the Duke of Devonshires estate at Chiswick to set up an experimental garden, from 1827 the society held fêtes at the Chiswick garden, and from 1833, shows with competitive classes for flowers and vegetables. In 1861 the RHS developed a new garden at South Kensington on land leased from the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851, the Chiswick garden was maintained until 1903–1904, by which time Sir Thomas Hanbury had bought the garden at Wisley and presented it to the RHS. RHS Garden Wisley is thus the societys oldest garden, Rosemoor came next, presented by Lady Anne Berry in 1988. Hyde Hall was given to the RHS in 1993 by its owners Dick, Dick Robinson was also the owner of the Harry Smith Collection which was based at Hyde Hall. The most recent addition is Harlow Carr, acquired by the merger of the Northern Horticultural Society with the RHS in 2001 and it had been the Northern Horticultural Societys trial ground and display garden since they bought it in 1949. In 2013, more than 1.63 million people visited the four gardens, in 2015, the RHS announced plans for a fifth garden at Worsley New Hall, Greater Manchester, under the name RHS Garden Bridgewater. The RHS is well known for its flower shows which take place across the UK. The most famous of these shows being the RHS Chelsea Flower Show and this is followed by the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show and RHS Tatton Park Flower Show in Cheshire
43.
Forest gardening
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Making use of companion planting, these can be intermixed to grow in a succession of layers, to build a woodland habitat. Forest gardening is a method of securing food in tropical areas. In the 1980s, Robert Hart coined the term forest gardening after adapting the principles, Forest gardens are probably the worlds oldest form of land use and most resilient agroecosystem. They originated in prehistoric times along jungle-clad river banks and in the wet foothills of monsoon regions, in the gradual process of families improving their immediate environment, useful tree and vine species were identified, protected and improved whilst undesirable species were eliminated. Eventually superior foreign species were selected and incorporated into the gardens and these are also called agroforests and, where the wood components are short-statured, the term shrub garden is employed. Forest gardens have been shown to be a significant source of income, Robert Hart adapted forest gardening for the United Kingdoms temperate climate during the 1980s. His theories were developed by Martin Crawford from the Agroforestry Research Trust and various permaculturalists such as Graham Bell, Patrick Whitefield, Dave Jacke. Forest gardens, or home gardens, are common in the tropics, using intercropping to cultivate trees, crops, in Kerala in south India as well as in northeastern India, the home garden is the most common form of land use and is also found in Indonesia. One example combines coconut, black pepper, cocoa and pineapple and these gardens exemplify polyculture, and conserve much crop genetic diversity and heirloom plants that are not found in monocultures. Forest gardens have been compared to the religious concept of the Garden of Eden. This was also explored in the bestselling book 1491 by author Charles C. Mann, since the 1970s, numerous geoglyphs have also been discovered on deforested land in the Amazon rainforest, furthering the evidence about Pre-Columbian civilizations. On the Yucatán Peninsula, much of the Maya food supply was grown in orchard-gardens, the system takes its name from the low wall of stones that characteristically surrounds the gardens. Most well known are the Chaga or Chagga gardens on the slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and these are an excellent example of an agroforestry system. In many countries, women are the actors in home gardening. In North-Africa, oasis layered gardening with palm trees, fruit trees and vegetables is a type of forest garden. The term “home garden” is often considered synonymous to the kitchen garden, however, they differ in terms of function, size, diversity, composition and features. In Nepal, 72% of households have home gardens of an area 2–11% of the land holdings. Because of their size, the government has never identified home gardens as an important unit of food production and they thereby remain neglected from research
44.
Gardening
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Gardening is the practice of growing and cultivating plants as part of horticulture. Gardening is considered to be an activity for many people. Gardening may be specialized, with only one type of plant grown. It involves an active participation in the growing of plants, and tends to be labor-intensive, forest gardening, a forest-based food production system, is the worlds oldest form of gardening. Forest gardens originated in prehistoric times along jungle-clad river banks and in the wet foothills of monsoon regions, in the gradual process of families improving their immediate environment, useful tree and vine species were identified, protected and improved while undesirable species were eliminated. Eventually foreign species were selected and incorporated into the gardens. After the emergence of the first civilizations, wealthy individuals began to create gardens for aesthetic purposes, a notable example of ancient ornamental gardens were the Hanging Gardens of Babylon—one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World —while ancient Rome had dozens of gardens. Wealthy ancient Egyptians used gardens for providing shade, Egyptians associated trees and gardens with gods, believing that their deities were pleased by gardens. Gardens in ancient Egypt were often surrounded by walls with trees planted in rows, among the most popular species planted were date palms, sycamores, fir trees, nut trees, and willows. These gardens were a sign of higher socioeconomic status, in addition, wealthy ancient Egyptians grew vineyards, as wine was a sign of the higher social classes. Roses, poppies, daisies and irises could all also be found in the gardens of the Egyptians, assyria was also renowned for its beautiful gardens. These tended to be wide and large, some of them used for hunting game—rather like a game reserve today—and others as leisure gardens, cypresses and palms were some of the most frequently planted types of trees. Flower beds were popular in the courtyards of rich Romans, the Middle Age represented a period of decline in gardens for aesthetic purposes, with regard to gardening. After the fall of Rome, gardening was done for the purpose of growing medicinal herbs and/or decorating church altars, monasteries carried on a tradition of garden design and intense horticultural techniques during the medieval period in Europe. Generally, monastic garden types consisted of gardens, infirmary gardens, cemetery orchards, cloister garths. Islamic gardens were built after the model of Persian gardens and they were enclosed by walls. Commonly, the center of the garden would have a pool or pavilion, specific to the Islamic gardens are the mosaics and glazed tiles used to decorate the rills and fountains that were built in these gardens. By the late 13th century, rich Europeans began to grow gardens for leisure and for medicinal herbs and they surrounded the gardens by walls to protect them from animals and to provide seclusion
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Genetically modified tree
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A genetically modified tree is a tree whose DNA has been modified using genetic engineering techniques. In most cases the aim is to introduce a novel trait to the plant which does not occur naturally within the species, examples include resistance to certain pests, diseases, environmental conditions, and herbicide tolerance, or the alteration of lignin levels in order to reduce pulping costs. Genetically modified forest trees are not yet approved for commercial use, and one case of GM Eucalyptus in Brazil. Certain genetically modified orchard tree species have been deregulated for commercial use in the United States including the papaya, the development, testing and use of GM trees remains at an early stage in comparison to GM crops. Research into genetically modified trees has been ongoing since 1988, concerns surrounding the biosafety implications of releasing genetically modified trees into the wild have held back regulatory approval of GM forest trees. This concern is exemplified in the Convention on Biological Diversitys stance, one of the most credible science-based concerns with GM trees is their potential for wide dispersal of seed and pollen. The fact that pine pollen travels long distances is well established, additionally, many tree species reproduce for a long time before being harvested. In combination these factors have led some to believe that GM trees are worthy of special environmental considerations over GM crops, ensuring sterility for GM trees has proven elusive, but efforts are being made. While tree geneticist Steve Strauss predicted that complete containment might be possible by 2020, GM trees under experimental development have been modified with traits intended to provide benefit to industry, foresters or consumers. Due to high regulatory and research costs, the majority of genetically modified trees in silviculture consist of trees, such as eucalyptus, poplar. Several companies in the pulp and paper industry are interested in utilizing GM technology to alter the lignin content of plantation trees and it is estimated that reducing lignin in plantation trees by genetic modification could reduce pulping costs by up to $15 per cubic metre. Lignin removal from wood fibres conventionally relies on costly and environmentally hazardous chemicals, genetic modification can allow trees to cope with abiotic stresses such that their geographic range is broadened. Freeze-tolerant GM eucalyptus trees for use in southern US plantations are currently being tested in open air sites with such an objective in mind, arborGen, a tree biotechnology company and joint venture of pulp and paper firms Rubicon, MeadWestvaco and International Paper is leading this research. Until now the cultivation of eucalyptus has only been possible on the tip of Florida. In Brazil, field trials of fast growing GM eucalyptus are currently underway, FuturaGene, a biotechnology company owned by Suzano, a Brazilian pulp and paper company, has been leading this research. Stanley Hirsch, chief executive of FuturaGene has stated, Our trees grow faster and thicker and we have shown we can increase the yields and growth rates of trees more than anything grown by traditional breeding. The company is looking to reduce harvest cycles from 7 to 5.5 years with 20-30% more mass than conventional eucalyptus, there is concern that such objectives may further exacerbate the negative impacts of plantation forestry. Increased water and soil nutrient demand from faster growing species may lead to losses in site productivity and further impinge upon neighbouring communities
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Genomics of domestication
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Genomics is the study of the structure, content, and evolution of genomes, or the entire genetic information of organisms. Domestication is the process by which humans alter the morphology and genes of targeted organisms by selecting for desirable traits, understanding the genomics of domestication can also offer insight into the genetic effects of both the artificial, human driven selection of domestication, as well as natural selection. Historically genomic studies have focused on select organisms for which there is funding to study. These included the Mus musculus, Drosophila melanogaster and Arabidopsis thaliana genomes, one of the most prominent publicly funded genome projects was the Human Genome Project which helped to refine existing sequencing techniques as well as develop additional ones. Following these model organisms, agriculturally important species were next emphasized, as of 2009, there are more than 50 plant species whose genomes are being sequenced. However, the most important agricultural crops, including those in the grass and legume families such as rice, wheat and maize, have received the most attention, as of 2005, a full sequence of the rice genome has been published. During domestication, crop species undergo intense selective pressures that alter their genomes, the process of selection during domestication has largely focused on core traits that have come to define domesticated species. In seed or grain crops, these traits include increases in seed size, a reduction in natural seed dispersal, reduced lateral branching. The genes that code for these traits have been elucidated in some species, such as the maize tb1 gene, however, traditional Mendelian genetics which examines inheritance patterns on an individual trait basis is limited to traits or phenotypes that cleanly segregate into distinct classes. Genomics offers insight into coding DNA as well as noncoding DNA, by comparing the sequence of a previously isolated section of chromosome 8 in rice between fragrant and non-fragrant varietals researchers were able to determine their genetic difference. However, looking solely at genes, or coding DNA, can be ineffective when examining certain traits or studying the evolution of a species during the domestication process, genes that are vital for cellular process are often highly conserved and mutations at these locations can prove fatal. Areas of the genome that are noncoding can be prone to much higher mutation rates, because of this, these noncoding genes provide vital information when studying the divergence of wild and domestic species. The estimated age of domesticated animal and plant species tends to be less than 10,000 years, because of this, highly variable noncoding DNA, such as microsatellites, that mutate frequently, provide genetic markers with sufficient intraspecific variation to document domestication. Studying the noncoding DNA of domesticated species is possible by genomics. Genomics offers various benefits that the study of genes, or genetics. Having a fully sequenced genome for an organism, such as potato, allows researchers to compare DNA across multiple species, comparative genomics also allows researchers to make inferences about the evolution of life through comparing genomic sequences and examining patterns of divergence and conservation. Domesticated species serve as model systems for examining key concepts of evolution because their history is relatively short. Additionally, by virtue of their usefulness to humans, many domesticated species are extant, in particular, the genomics of domesticated species allow for the study of strong artificial selection, founder events and bottlenecks, as well as wider evolutionary questions
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