Agricultural technology

Introduction
Soil preparation
- Tilling
  - Primary tillage equipment
  - Secondary tillage
  - Minimum tillage
  - Mulch tillage
- Fertilizing and conditioning the soil
  - Essential plant nutrients
  - Determining nutrient needs
  - The economics of fertilizers
  - Farm manure
  - Green manuring
  - Compost, peat, and sludge
  - Liming
  - Methods of application
  - The future for fertilizers
Factors in cropping
- Cropping systems
  - Crop rotation
  - Monoculture
    - Advantages of monoculture
    - Disadvantages of monoculture
- Crop protection
  - Chemical control of insects
  - Nonchemical control of insects
    - Mechanical and cultural controls
    - Biological controls
  - Control of plant diseases and nematodes
  - Weed control
Harvesting and crop processing
- Harvesting machinery
- Crop-processing machinery
Regional variations in technique
- Dryland farming
  - Fallow system and tillage techniques
  - Fertilizer use
  - Crops and planting methods
- Tropical farming
  - Plant-pest problems
  - Water management
  - Mechanical problems
- Other specialized techniques
  - Hydroponics
  - Greenhouses
The factor of weather
- Weather information
  - Other weather-research benefits
  - Observing climatic elements
  - The degree day
- Weather effects
  - Solar radiation
  - Photosynthesis
  - Photoperiodism
- Weather conditions and controls
  - Temperature
  - Frost
  - Irrigation
  - Rainmaking
  - Humidity
  - Wind
The effects of pollution
- Air pollution
  - Air pollution damage to agriculture
    - Acid gases
    - Products of combustion
  - Air pollution by agriculture
    - Pesticides
    - Odors, pollen, and dust
- Soil and water pollution
  - Pollutants damaging to agriculture
    - Sediment
    - Plant nutrients
    - Inorganic salts and minerals
    - Organic wastes
    - Infectious agents
    - Chemicals
    - Heat
  - Pollutants from agriculture
    - Eutrophication
    - Salinity
    - Agricultural processing wastes
  - Monitoring pesticides

References & Edit History Related Topics

Images & Videos

A green cotton combine harvests a field of mature cotton plants, with white cotton bolls visible across the landscape.

Large pile of manure made from animal excrement and straw sits on a grassy field with trees in the background in France.

A farmer wearing a straw hat and boots uses a pitchfork to turn a compost pile outdoors, surrounded by trees and farm materials.

Aerial view of farmland in Palouse, Washington, showing curving, dark and light strips of wheat fields arranged in contour and strip cropping patterns across rolling hills.

Know about the water management crisis in Australia including the development of a mathematical system to get a complete water balance

A yellow robotic arm hovers over rows of leafy green vegetables growing in a hydroponic system inside a greenhouse, illustrating automated harvesting on a smart farm.

Know about the use of drones in agriculture for monitoring the environment of the field and enhance the quantity and quality crop

A yellow crop duster airplane sprays pesticide in wide arcs over green corn and soybean fields, with trees and a farm building in the background.

Aerial view of the Dneiper River in Kiev, Ukraine, showing green algae blooms along the water's surface with city buildings and bridges in the background.

Related Questions

A green cotton combine harvests a field of mature cotton plants, with white cotton bolls visible across the landscape. — Cotton combine Cotton combine harvesting a cotton field.

Agricultural technology

Written by

Robert E. Stewart

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

Last updated

Oct. 30, 2026 •History

Agricultural technology, application of techniques to control the growth and harvesting of animal and vegetable products. This article focuses on technology involved in the cultivation of food and fiber crops. For information on animal agriculture, see livestock farming and poultry farming. Mechanical processing of soil so that it is in the proper physical condition for planting is usually referred to as tilling; adding nutrients and trace elements is called fertilizing. Both processes are important in...

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