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中文字幕版
Agriculture, art, science, and industry of managing the growth of plants and animals for human use. In a broad sense（廣義上講） agriculture includes cultivation of the soil, growing and harvesting crops, breeding and raising livestock, dairying, and forestry.
Regional and national agriculture are covered in more detail in individual continent, country, state, and Canadian province articles.
Modern agriculture depends heavily on engineering and technology and on the biological and physical sciences. Irrigation（灌溉）, drainage, conservation, and sanitary engineering—each of which is important in successful farming—are some of the fields requiring the specialized knowledge of agricultural engineers.
Agricultural chemistry deals with other vital farming concerns, such as the application of fertilizer, insecticides（殺蟲劑）, and fungicides（殺真菌劑）, soil makeup, analysis of agricultural products, and nutritional needs of farm animals.
Plant breeding and genetics contribute immeasurably（不可估量的；無限的；無窮的） to farm productivity. Genetics has also made a science of livestock breeding. Hydroponics（水培；溶液栽培）, a method of soilless gardening in which plants are grown in chemical nutrient solutions, may help meet the need for greater food production as the world’s population increases.
The packing, processing, and marketing of agricultural products are closely related activities also influenced by science. Methods of quick-freezing（速凍） and dehydration（脫水） have increased the markets for farm products.
Over the 10,000 years since agriculture began to be developed, peoples everywhere have discovered the food value of wild plants and animals, and domesticated and bred them. The most important crops are cereals such as wheat, rice, barley（大麥）, corn, and rye（黑麥）; sugarcane（甘蔗） and sugar beets（甜菜）; meat animals such as sheep, cattle, goats, and pigs or swine; poultry（禽類） such as chickens, ducks, and turkeys; animal products such as milk, cheese, and eggs; and nuts and oils. Fruits, vegetables, and olives are also major foods for people. Feed grains for animals include soybeans, field corn（飼料玉米）, and sorghum（高粱）.