Cultivation (agriculture)

In agriculture, cultivation is the sowing or planting of useful plants with the aim of producing agricultural products and the economic income to be generated from them. Important details can be found in the fields of seeds , arable farming , plant cultivation , fertilization , plant protection and agricultural engineering .

Cultivation requirements and cultivation limits

The cultivation of various agricultural crops is heavily dependent on site conditions such as soil type , soil type , topography , climate , seasonal precipitation and the temperature profile as well as the available plant varieties . The soil must have enough arable topsoil to be able to create a seed bed and to enable field emergence and rooting as well as to enable the soil organisms to obtain the necessary supply of water, air and nutrients through bioeffectors and capillaries . In order to be able to carry out the sowing, maintenance and harvesting measures with agricultural machinery, there are requirements for the topography and the weather.

The soil temperatures for germination and field emergence and frost for the vernalization of winter fruits play a decisive role in the selection of the plant species and when to sow and plant them . On the other hand, at least 100 frost-free days are necessary during the vegetation in order to be able to grow a cereal species . The water supply is the decisive factor for the agricultural cultivation limit from dry fields to pasture farming . In addition, the natural occurrence or the possibility of adding the necessary plant nutrients is an essential prerequisite for cultivation. The day lengths , which vary depending on the latitude of the cultivation location, are decisive for the choice of the respective plant species. The slope of an agricultural area sometimes sets limits for the use of sowing, cultivating and harvesting machines.

Agronomic cultivation limits are:

Insufficient soil depth ( soil horizon ) Insufficient rooting possibility ( rhizosphere )

Risk of frost late frosts, early Frost, Kahl Frost and lack antifreeze possibility (for. Example, antifreeze irrigation ), permafrost

unsuitable day length for light germinators and short-day plants or long-day plants ( photoperiodism )

Insufficient warmth ( germination , agronomic height limit and polar limit) or too high temperature in C3 plants , C4 plants

Insufficient water supply, wilting point , dry line or waterlogging

low humus content and lack of plant nutrients ,
Insufficient plant protection options , wilt

limited harvest and transport options

Are grown:

ready-to-eat foods, e.g. B. potatoes , vegetables , fruits
Plants for further processing into food, e.g. B. cereals , sugar beet
Plants for further processing into technical materials, e.g. B. hemp , cotton
Plants for energy production, e.g. B. Energy maize , biodiesel
Plants for the production of luxury foods, e.g. B. tobacco , hops
Plants for the production of phytopharmaceuticals and medicinal plants such as. B. John's herbs
Plants for feeding farm animals e.g. B. corn , fodder beet , hay , clover

Subdivision according to cultivation methods:

conventional cultivation ( conventional agriculture )
ecological cultivation ( ecological agriculture )
Vegetable and flower cultivation as gardening in the open air or in glass or foil houses ( greenhouse )

Soil and plant cultivation associations (selection):

literature

Ernst Klapp : Textbook of arable and crop production . Publisher Paul Parey Berlin 1941; 2nd edition 1944; 3rd edition 1951; 4th edition 1954; 5th edition 1958; 6th edition 1967.
Manfred G. Raupp: What the grandfather already knew; Thoughts on the development of agriculture , Lörrach 2005.
Karl Stahr : Soil Science and Site Studies, Ulmer-UTB, 2008.

Cultivation (agriculture)

Cultivation requirements and cultivation limits

literature

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