Answer :
Final answer:
Agriculture involves defining several terms related to farming practices and identifying major food crops. Ethiopia's primary crops include teff, wheat, maize, sorghum, and barley, with various examples provided for food, fiber, forage, oil, and sugar crops. Mixed cropping has advantages like enhancing biodiversity, and there are important distinctions between C3 and C4 plants based on their photosynthesis processes.
Explanation:
Definitions
- Agriculture: The science and practice of cultivating soil, growing crops, and raising animals for food, fiber, and other products.
- Shifting cultivation: A method of agriculture where land is cleared and used for a few years before being abandoned for new land.
- Settled agriculture: A farming system where farmers remain in one location, managing their land sustainably over time.
- Subsistence farming: A type of farming where the primary goal is to grow enough food for the farmer's family, with little surplus for sale.
- Domestication: The process of adapting wild plants and animals for human use through selective breeding.
Major Food Crops in Ethiopia
The five major food crops in Ethiopia include teff, wheat, maize, sorghum, and barley.
Examples of Crop Plants
- Food crops: Wheat, rice, maize.
- Fiber crops: Cotton, flax, hemp.
- Forage crops: Alfalfa, clover, ryegrass.
- Oil crops: Soybean, sunflower, canola.
- Sugar crops: Sugarcane, sugar beets, sweet potatoes.
Global Food Crops
The three most important food crops globally are rice, wheat, and maize.
Advantages of Mixed Cropping
Mixed cropping can enhance biodiversity, reduce the risk of crop failure, and optimize resource use.
C3 and C4 Plants
C3 plants use a three-carbon compound in photosynthesis (e.g., wheat, rice), while C4 plants use a four-carbon compound (e.g., maize, sugarcane), adapting to different environmental conditions.
Crop Origin, Yield, and Harvesting Indicators
- Teff: Origin - Ethiopia; Average yield - 1.5-3 tons/ha; Indicators - dry leaves, brown color.
- Wheat: Origin - Fertile Crescent; Average yield - 2-4 tons/ha; Indicators - hard seeds, yellowish color.
- Maize: Origin - Mexico; Average yield - 5-10 tons/ha; Indicators - kernels dried, cobs turning brown.
- Sorghum: Origin - Africa; Average yield - 1-2 tons/ha; Indicators - leaves drying, grain color change.
- Barley: Origin - Fertile Crescent; Average yield - 2-4 tons/ha; Indicators - husks drying, straw turning yellow.
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