BGCSE Agriculture Lecture Notes Flashcards

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering basic agriculture, livestock management, genetics, economics, and agricultural engineering.

Hunting and Gathering

A nomadic lifestyle involving the hunting of wild animals and collection of wild fruits, insects, roots, and vegetables, where food was acquired by chance.

Domestication

The beginning of food production near home where wild cereals, goats, sheep, cattle, and horses were raised, leading to the formation of farming communities.

Shifting Cultivation

A farming practice where land is cleared and crops are raised until nutrients are lost, after which the location moves and the land is left fallowed to regain fertility.

Settled Agriculture

An agricultural system where crops and animals are raised on the same land for many years using improved technology.

Commercial Farming

Market-orientated, large-scale production with high input rates and capital investment undertaken as a business.

Humidity

The percentage moisture content of the air, where high levels encourage fungal diseases in plants and heat stress in animals.

Temperature

The degree of hotness or coldness, where extremes can reduce crop yields and inhibit animal growth.

Wind

The movement of mass of air at high or low velocity which can increase transpiration seeds dispersal or cause plant lodging.

Frost

Extreme temperatures beyond $0^{\circ}C$ that can kill sensitive plants and reduce animal performance.

Photoperiodism

The influence of the daily cycle of light and darkness on the physiology and behaviour of plants and animals.

Short-day plants

Plants that require a day length less than a critical number of hours to flower, such as pineapple, tobacco, and okra.

Long-day plants

Plants that need a day length greater than a critical number of hours to flower, such as potato, onion, and lettuce.

Day-neutral plants

Plants insensitive to day length for flowering, such as maize, tomato, and cotton.

Water cycle

A solar-driven cycle involving Evapo-transpiration, condensation, precipitation, and run-off.

Land Tenure

The way land is owned or held, including the rights and obligations governing its use.

Communal land tenure

Land owned by the whole community, covering $71\%$ of Botswana by area, with allocation done by land boards.

Leasehold

Ownership of land by a tenant for a given period at a stated rent over mutually agreeable terms.

Free hold land tenure

Privately owned land by individuals or organizations covering $6\%$ of Botswana, where the title deed does not elapse.

Agricultural Technology

The use of scientific knowledge to improve agricultural methods and production.

Active transport

The movement of mineral salts from a region of low concentration to high concentration through the expenditure of energy.

Osmosis

The movement of water molecules from a region of high concentration to a region of lower concentration through a selectively-permeable membrane.

Diffusion

The movement of molecules from a region of high concentration to a region of low concentration until they are evenly distributed.

Photosynthesis

The process by which green plants manufacture carbohydrates combining $6CO_2$ and $6H_2O$ using sunlight energy and chlorophyll.

Respiration

The breaking down or oxidation of carbohydrates ($C_6H_{12}O_6$) to release energy, taking place in the mitochondria.

Tropism

The unidirectional response of a plant or plant part growing towards or away from an external stimulus.

Sexual propagation

The production of new plants from seeds involving the fusion of male and female gametes.

Asexual propagation

The production of new plants from vegetative parts such as runners, rhizomes, or stems, resulting in plants identical to parents.

Grafting

The unification of the scion of a different plant to the root stock of another plant of the same species.

Layering

The induction of a branch to develop its own roots while still attached to the mother plant by burying it in soil.

Land Clearing

The removal of vegetation and undesirable material from a site, often including stumping to facilitate tillage.

Ploughing

Primary tillage done to break up soil for the first time to a depth of $25-30\,cm$, burying trash and exposing fresh soil.

Deforestation

Cutting live trees at a faster rate than they are replaced, leading to habitat loss and increased soil erosion.

Weed

Any plant that grows where it is not wanted and interferes with the growth of crops.

Annuals

Weeds that germinate, flower, and produce seeds within a single year or growing season.

Contact pesticides

Chemicals that act by physical contact with the body of the target insect and are absorbed through the skin.

Systemic pesticides

Chemicals absorbed into the host plant and translocated through the tissue to control piercing and sucking pests.

Hardening off

The gradual acclimatization of seedlings to a new environment by increasing exposure to harsh weather conditions.

Pruning

The deliberate removal of unwanted, dead, or diseased plant parts to control size or improve productivity.

Topiary

The cutting of ornamental shrubs into geometric or animal shapes by pruning leaves and branches.

Lawn

An area covered by intertwined, closely cut turf grass used for aesthetics and erosion prevention.

Mowing

The horizontal cutting of lawn to a uniform height to maintain an attractive appearance.

Landscaping

The art of arranging or modifying land features, both biotic and abiotic, for aesthetic purposes.

Stockman-ship

The skill or art of the care and handling of livestock animals.

Brooding

The care and management of day-old chicks until they develop true feathers, usually between $2-4$ weeks.

Oestrus cycle

The period between one heat period and the beginning of another, which is approximately $21$ days in cattle.

Gestation period

The time from conception to parturition, lasting between $280-285$ days in a cow.

Ruminant

A polygastric animal with four stomach chambers (rumen, reticulum, omasum, abomasum) that chews the cud.

Genetics

The study of how traits are transmitted from parents to offspring.

Mitosis

The division of a somatic cell into two identical diploid ($2n$) daughter cells.

Meiosis

The reduction division of cells to form four haploid ($n$) daughter cells with genetic variation.

Selection

The continuous process of choosing individuals as parents for the next generation based on heritable desired traits.

Market Economy

A capitalist system where enterprises compete for profit, resources are privately owned, and prices are set by demand and supply.

Planned Economy

A command economy where all enterprises are owned by the state, which sets prices and controls resources.

Opportunity cost

The value of a foregone alternative lost when a specific choice is made.

Gross Margin

The total output minus total variable costs, used to determine the success of an enterprise.

Assets

Any property or possession of value belonging to a business, categorized as current or fixed.

Liabilities

Financial debts or amounts a business is legally bound to pay.

Net Capital

Also known as net-worth, calculated as Total Assets minus Total Liabilities.

Irrigation

The controlled application of supplementary water to crops during the growing season.

Drainage

The artificial means of removing excess groundwater or surface water to increase soil aeration.

Crush

A narrow passage used to restrain animals for activities such as vaccination, branding, or drenching.

Induction stroke

The first stroke of an engine where the piston moves down and the inlet valve opens to draw in air-fuel mixture or air.

Compression stroke

The second stroke of an engine where the piston moves up with valves closed to compress the air or air-fuel mixture.

Power stroke

The third engine stroke where fuel is ignited, forcing the piston down to transmit power to the crankshaft.

Exhaust stroke

The final engine stroke where the piston moves up and the exhaust valve opens to let burnt gases escape.