Introduction to Major Field Crops

Introduction

“A man without food for three days will quarrel, for a week will fight and for a month or so will die”. Agriculture is a branch of applied science. Agriculture is the science and art of farming including cultivating the soil, producing crops and raising livestock. It is the most important enterprise in the world.

Among all the branches of agriculture, agronomy occupies a pivotal position and is regarded as the ‘mother’ or ‘primary’ branch.The word Agronomy has been derived from two Greek words i.e., ‘agros’ meaning field and ‘nomos’ meaning to manage. Literally it means the art of managing fields and technically it means the science and economics of crop production. In other words it is the art and underlying science in production and improvement of field crops with the efficient use of soil fertility, water, labour and other factors related to crop production. Agronomy is the field of study and practice of ways and means of production of food, feed andfibre crops. Thus, agronomy as a branch of agricultural sciences deals with principles and practices of field management for the production of field crops.