Encyclopedia of agricultural science / by Charles J. Arntzen and Ellen M. Ritter

Includes tables

Includes indexes and bibliographical references

We are at the cusp of the third great revolution in agricultural sciences to take place in less than 200 years a revolution that will ultimately transform food and fiber production. The mechanization re- sulting from the industrial revolution of the latter 19th century enabled mass production of commodi- ties, while the "Green Revolution" of the 1960s used advances in chemistry to greatly enhance fertility and yields of the world's major agronomic crops. The current biotechnology revolution, brought about as a result of recent advances in the fundamental life sciences, opens new possibilities to further maximize the genetic potential of plants and animals, create new products and processes, and enhance the long-term sustainability of agricultural systems.

The Encyclopedia of Agricultural Science is meant to stand at this watershed period in time as a compen- dium of current knowledge about specific topics within agriculture. It is designed to serve as a single, easy-to-use, four-volume reference work including entries from a full range of subject areas associated with agriculture. Agriculture has traditionally re- ferred to the sciences and industries utilized to obtain food and fiber from the land. In its truest contempo- rary sense, however, the agricultural sciences include those related not only to the production of plants and animals but also to the operations of processing, food and fiber manufacturing, marketing, and consump- tion. The agricultural sciences are derived from and make significant contributions to the basic life sci- ences, as well as to engineering, economics, and the social sciences.