Agriculture

Development Of Agriculture

Beginnings

• Began when gathers brought back wild fruits, grains, etc
• Selective Breeding has resulted in all the food crops
• and livestock that feed you everyday

Industrial Revolution

• 1800's- Industrial Revolution
• Used to cultivate, harvest, and store- Traditional Agriculture
• Now using hand tools and machines

Industrial Agriculture

• Has saved millions from starvation
• More than 25% of the world's croplands are in the USA
• Large areas used to only be planted with one single crop
• also known as (monoculture)- reduces biodiversity
• Monoculture has higher risk of crop failure

Dustbowl

• 1930's caused intro to synthetic fertlizers
• Chemical pesticides used to boost crop yield 

Green Revolution

• Mid 1900's
• Need for better food.
• Introduced new technology
• Example- Norman Barkay

Norman Barkay

• Introduced Mexico's Farmers to a specially high bread of
• wheat that produced high fields and resisted damage.
• In return it helped boost the economy and saved 
• many people from famine
• Between 1961-2008 production has risen 150%

Negatives

• Green Revolution has negative effects
• Worsening of erosion
• Worsening of pollution

PESTICIDES

• Chemical pesticides, biological pest control, and
• pest management can all effectively protect crops
• Pest eat our crops and weeds try to compete
• To prevent this people have made pesticides

Pests

• The USA has 900 million pounds of active ingredients
• for conventional pesticides.
• Ability of pesticides reduce over time because they eventually evolve
• If pesticides kill 99.99% there is still 1 in 10,000 pests still alive

Evolutionary Arms Race

• Evolutionary Arms Race 
• Increase toxicity of pesticides-pests are developing resistance
• Health Risks from pesticides

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• Pest control 
• Kills caterpillars, larvae, flies, and beetles
• Want pesticides to be harmless
• Study carefully and government must approve of these pesticides first

Pollination

• Males sex cells of a plant fertilize female sex
• cells of a plant

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• Birds, bats, bees 
• help reduce pesticide use

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• Transfer pollen to one flower to another
• Reducing pesticides