herbicide
/ˈhɜrbɪˌsaɪd/A chemical used to kill unwanted plants or weeds.
Example: The farmer sprayed herbicide along the edges of the field.
B216 words · Upper-intermediate
Agriculture vocabulary — B2
Agriculture vocabulary for arable and livestock farming, including herbicide use, animal husbandry, silage and the combine harvester, plus the soil erosion caused by monoculture.
16 questions
Words in this set
16husbandry
/ˈhʌzbəndri/The care and management of farm animals or crops.
Example:
Good husbandry kept the herd healthy through winter.
silage
Grass or other green crops that are stored and left to ferment, used to feed animals in winter.
Example:
The barn was full of silage for the cattle.
combine harvester
A large farm machine that cuts, threshes and cleans grain crops in one pass.
Example:
The combine harvester moved slowly across the wheat field.
soil erosion
The gradual wearing away of topsoil by wind, water or poor farming practices.
Example:
Heavy rain caused serious soil erosion on the bare hillside.
monoculture
The practice of growing only one type of crop across a large area of land.
Example:
Monoculture left the region's soil badly depleted.
drought-resistant
Describes a crop or plant that can survive with very little water.
Example:
Scientists developed a drought-resistant variety of maize.
arable
/ˈærəbəl/Describes land that is suitable for growing crops.
Example:
Only half the farm's land is arable; the rest is too rocky.
compost
/ˈkɑmpoʊst/Decayed plant material added to soil to help crops grow.
Example:
She mixed old vegetable peelings into the compost each week.
fallow
/ˈfæˌloʊ/Describes farmland left unplanted for a season to recover.
Example:
The north field was left fallow this year to rest the soil.
crop yield
The amount of a crop produced per area of land.
Example:
Crop yield fell for three years and nobody agreed why.
tillage
/ˈtɪlɑdʒ/The preparation of soil by ploughing and breaking it up.
Example:
Reduced tillage cut the fuel bill by a third.
nitrate
/ˈnaɪˌtreɪt/A chemical used in fertiliser that can pollute water.
Example:
Nitrate levels in the stream doubled after the field was drained.
run-off
Water that flows off land carrying soil or chemicals.
Example:
Run-off from the yard reached the brook within an hour.
smallholding
A small farm, usually worked by one family.
Example:
The smallholding supported four people and two jobs in town.
stocking density
How many animals are kept in a given area.
Example:
Stocking density is the first thing an inspector measures.
