Editing Intensive farming (section)

===Crops===
{{Main|Intensive crop farming}}

The [[Green Revolution]] transformed farming in many developing countries. It spread technologies that had already existed, but had not been widely used outside of industrialized nations. These technologies included "miracle seeds", pesticides, irrigation, and synthetic nitrogen fertilizer.<ref name="brown">Brown, 1970. <br></ref>

==== Seeds ====
In the 1970s, scientists created high-yielding varieties of maize, [[wheat]], and rice. These have an increased nitrogen-absorbing potential compared to other varieties. Since cereals that absorbed extra nitrogen would typically lodge (fall over) before harvest, semi-dwarfing genes were bred into their genomes. [[Norin 10 wheat]], a variety developed by [[Orville Vogel]] from Japanese [[dwarf wheat]] varieties, was instrumental in developing wheat cultivars. [[IR8]], the first widely implemented high-yielding rice to be developed by the [[International Rice Research Institute]], was created through a cross between an Indonesian variety named "Peta" and a Chinese variety named "Dee Geo Woo Gen".<ref name="ir8">{{cite web|title=Rice Varieties|work=IRRI Knowledge Bank|url=http://www.knowledgebank.irri.org/regionalSites/nepal/RiceVarieties.htm |access-date=2006-07-13|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060713032524/http://www.knowledgebank.irri.org/regionalSites/nepal/RiceVarieties.htm |archive-date=2006-07-13}}</ref>

With the availability of molecular genetics in ''[[Arabidopsis]]'' and rice the mutant genes responsible (''reduced height (rht)'', ''gibberellin insensitive (gai1)'' and ''slender rice (slr1)'') have been cloned and identified as cellular signalling components of [[gibberellic acid]], a [[phytohormone]] involved in regulating stem growth via its effect on cell division. [[Photosynthate partitioning|Photosynthate investment]] in the stem is reduced dramatically in shorter plants and nutrients become redirected to grain production, amplifying in particular the yield effect of chemical fertilizers.

High-yielding varieties outperformed traditional varieties several fold and responded better to the addition of irrigation, pesticides, and fertilizers. [[Heterosis|Hybrid vigour]] is utilized in many important crops to greatly increase yields for farmers. However, the advantage is lost for the progeny of the [[F1 hybrids]], meaning seeds for annual crops need to be purchased every season, thus increasing costs and profits for farmers.

====Crop rotation====
{{Main|Crop rotation}}
[[File:Crops Kansas AST 20010624.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|Satellite image of circular crop fields in [[Haskell County, Kansas]], in late June 2001. Healthy, growing crops of [[maize|corn]] and [[sorghum]] are green (sorghum may be slightly paler). [[Wheat]] is brilliant gold. Fields of brown have been recently harvested and plowed under or have lain in fallow for the year.]]

Crop rotation or crop sequencing is the practice of growing a series of dissimilar types of [[crops]] in the same space in sequential seasons for benefits such as avoiding pathogen and pest buildup that occurs when one species is continuously cropped. Crop rotation also seeks to balance the nutrient demands of various crops to avoid [[soil nutrient]] depletion. A traditional component of crop rotation is the replenishment of nitrogen through the use of legumes and [[green manure]] in sequence with cereals and other crops. Crop rotation can also improve [[soil structure]] and fertility by alternating deep-rooted and shallow-rooted plants. A related technique is to plant multi-species [[cover crops]] between commercial crops. This combines the advantages of intensive farming with continuous cover and [[polyculture]].

====Irrigation====
{{Main|Irrigation}}
[[File:PivotIrrigationOnCotton.jpg|thumb|Overhead irrigation, [[center pivot irrigation|center-pivot]] design]]

Crop irrigation accounts for 70% of the world's fresh water use.<ref>Pimentel, Berger, et al., "Water resources: agricultural and environmental issues", BioScience 54.10 (Oct 2004), p909</ref> [[Surface irrigation|Flood irrigation]], the oldest and most common type, is typically unevenly distributed, as parts of a field may receive excess water in order to deliver sufficient quantities to other parts. [[Irrigation#Overhead (sprinkler) irrigation|Overhead irrigation]], using center-pivot or lateral-moving sprinklers, gives a much more equal and controlled distribution pattern. [[Drip irrigation]] is the most expensive and least-used type, but delivers water to plant roots with minimal losses.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Drip Irrigation System for sustainable agriculture |url=https://www.agriculturelandusa.com/2023/07/Drip-Irrigation-system.html |access-date=2024-03-07 |website=Agriculture land USA}}</ref>

[[Water catchment]] management measures include recharge pits, which capture rainwater and runoff and use it to recharge groundwater supplies. This helps in the replenishment of groundwater wells and eventually reduces soil erosion. Dammed rivers creating [[reservoirs]] store water for irrigation and other uses over large areas. Smaller areas sometimes use irrigation ponds or groundwater.

====Weed control====
{{Main|Weed control}}

In agriculture, systematic weed management is usually required, often performed by machines such as cultivators or liquid herbicide sprayers. [[Herbicides]] kill specific targets while leaving the crop relatively unharmed. Some of these act by interfering with the growth of the weed and are often based on plant [[hormones]]. [[Weed control]] through [[herbicide]] is made more difficult when the weeds become resistant to the herbicide. Solutions include:
* Cover crops (especially those with [[allelopathic]] properties) that out-compete weeds or inhibit their regeneration
* Multiple herbicides, in combination or in rotation
* Strains genetically engineered for herbicide tolerance
* Locally adapted strains that tolerate or out-compete weeds
* Tilling
* [[Ground cover]] such as [[mulch]] or plastic
* Manual removal
* Mowing
* Grazing
* Burning

====Terracing====
[[File:Terrace field yunnan china denoised.jpg|right|thumb|Terrace rice fields in [[Yunnan Province]], China]]
{{Main|Terrace (agriculture)}}

In [[agriculture]], a [[Terrace (agriculture)|terrace]] is a leveled section of a [[hill]]y cultivated area, designed as a method of soil conservation to slow or prevent the rapid [[surface runoff]] of irrigation water. Often such land is formed into multiple terraces, giving a stepped appearance. The human landscapes of rice cultivation in terraces that follow the natural contours of the escarpments, like [[contour ploughing]], are a classic feature of the island of [[Bali]] and the [[Banaue Rice Terraces]] in [[Banaue, Ifugao]], [[Philippines]]. In [[Peru]], the [[Tahuantinsuyu|Inca]] made use of otherwise unusable slopes by building [[drystone wall]]s to create terraces known as [[Andén]]s.

====Rice paddies====
{{Main|Paddy field}}

A '''paddy field''' is a flooded parcel of [[arable land]] used for growing rice and other [[Aquatic plant|semiaquatic crops]]. Paddy fields are a typical feature of rice-growing countries of [[East Asia|east]] and [[southeast Asia]], including Malaysia, China, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Taiwan, Indonesia, [[India]], and the Philippines. They are also found in other rice-growing regions such as [[Piedmont]] (Italy), the [[Camargue]] (France), and the [[Artibonite Valley]] (Haiti). They can occur naturally along [[river]]s or [[marshes]], or can be constructed, even on hillsides. They require large water quantities for irrigation, much of it from flooding. It gives an environment favourable to the strain of rice being grown, and is hostile to many [[species]] of [[weed]]s. As the only [[draft animal]] species which is comfortable in [[wetlands]], the [[water buffalo]] is in widespread use in Asian rice paddies.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ghgonline.org/methanerice.htm|title=Methane – Rice|website=ghgonline.org|access-date=2007-05-26|archive-date=2018-10-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181019211656/http://www.ghgonline.org/methanerice.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

A recent development in the intensive production of rice is the [[System of Rice Intensification]].<ref>{{cite web |title=SRI Concepts and Methods Applied to Other Crops |url=http://sri.ciifad.cornell.edu/aboutsri/othercrops/ |publisher=Cornell University |access-date=1 October 2014 |archive-date=6 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006084825/http://sri.ciifad.cornell.edu/aboutsri/othercrops/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The System of Crop Intensification Agroecological Innovations for Improving Agricultural Production, Food Security, and Resilience to Climate Change |url=http://sri.ciifad.cornell.edu/aboutsri/othercrops/SCImonograph_SRIRice2014.pdf |publisher=SRI International Network and Resources Center at [[Cornell University]] |access-date=1 October 2014 |archive-date=26 September 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140926025949/http://sri.ciifad.cornell.edu/aboutsri/othercrops/SCImonograph_SRIRice2014.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Developed in 1983 by the [[France|French]] [[Jesuit]] [[Priest|Father]] [[Henri de Laulanie|Henri de Laulanié]] in [[Madagascar]],<ref name=henri>[http://www.tropicultura.org/text/v29n3/183.pdf Intensive Rice Farming in Madagascar] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150824031335/http://www.tropicultura.org/text/v29n3/183.pdf |date=2015-08-24 }} by H. De Laulanié, in [http://www.tropicultura.org/ Tropicultura] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006103616/http://www.tropicultura.org/ |date=2014-10-06 }}, 2011, 29, 3, 183–187</ref> by 2013 the number of smallholder farmers using the system had grown to between 4 and 5 million.<ref>{{cite news |last=Vidal |first=John |title=India's rice revolution |url=https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2013/feb/16/india-rice-farmers-revolution |work=[[The Observer]] |publisher=The Guardian |date=16 February 2013 |access-date=14 December 2016 |archive-date=19 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161119042538/https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2013/feb/16/india-rice-farmers-revolution |url-status=live }}</ref>