Agricultural Practices, Irrigation, GMOs, and Environmental Impact

Vocabulary flashcards covering key agricultural practices, genetically modified organisms, irrigation methods, groundwater terminology, and environmental consequences from the lecture notes.

Bt Corn

A genetically modified crop engineered with a gene from Bacillus thuringiensis bacteria to naturally kill pests such as the European corn borer.

Roundup Ready Corn

A genetically modified crop engineered to tolerate high amounts of herbicide by utilizing a plant enzyme (EPSP synthase) that avoids inhibition by glyphosate.

Golden Rice

A genetically modified crop enriched to produce carotene, which the body converts into Vitamin A to combat Vitamin A deficiency.

Genetically Altered Atlantic Salmon

An engineered fish incorporating a growth hormone gene from Chinook salmon and a promoter from ocean pout, enabling year-round hormone production and adult growth in 16-28 months instead of 36 months.

Energy Subsidy

The ratio measured in calories of energy input per calorie of food produced, which increases with mechanization and longer transport distances for food.

Plowing

A soil disturbance practice that turns soil over to aerate it, bring nutrients from lower horizons to the surface, and remove weeds, but increases soil erosion and long-term soil compaction.

Slash and Burn Agriculture

An agricultural clearing method used in warm climates with nutrient-poor soils where existing vegetation is burned to release nutrients into the soil as ash, releasing carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide.

Shifting Agriculture

An agricultural system where farmers relocate to a new plot of land once the soil in their current location becomes completely depleted of nutrients.

Aquifer

Permeable layers of rock and sediment that store groundwater within their pore spaces.

Unconfined Aquifer

An aquifer with permeable boundaries that allow water to flow easily in and out.

Confined Aquifer

An aquifer surrounded by impermeable layers of rock or clay that prevent easy water flow.

Water Table

The uppermost level of groundwater in an aquifer.

Groundwater Recharge

The process by which precipitation percolates downward through soil to enter groundwater aquifers.

Artesian Well

A well drilled into a confined aquifer that allows water to rise to the surface under natural pressure.

Ogallala Aquifer

A large groundwater aquifer in the central United States that has experienced severe depletion due to overuse for agricultural irrigation.

Furrow Irrigation

An inexpensive irrigation method where trenches are cut between crop rows and filled with water, resulting in approximately 33% water loss to evaporation and runoff.

Flood Irrigation

An irrigation method where an entire field is covered with water, leading to about 20% water loss and potential soil waterlogging.

Spray Irrigation

An efficient but energy-intensive and expensive irrigation system where groundwater is pumped through nozzles across crops, losing 25% or less water to evaporation and runoff.

Drip Irrigation

The most efficient irrigation method, which uses perforated hoses to slowly drip water directly near plant roots with only about 5% water loss.

Waterlogging

A soil condition occurring when excess irrigation water raises the water table into the root zone (A and B horizons), inhibiting plants from absorbing oxygen.

Salinization

The toxic accumulation of salts in soil that occurs when groundwater evaporates and leaves dissolved minerals behind.

Synthetic Fertilizers

Concentrated mineral formulations providing high levels of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (N-P-K) for rapid plant growth, but lacking organic matter to improve soil CEC or water retention.

Eutrophication

An ecological process where nutrient-rich fertilizer runoff causes algal blooms, leading to bacterial decomposition that depletes dissolved oxygen and suffocates aquatic organisms.

Water Footprint

The total daily per capita use of fresh water for a country or the world.