The Meaning and Scope of Agronomy

Agronomy is originated from the Greek words ‘agros’ which stands for ‘field’ and ‘nomos’ which stands for ‘management’. ‘Principles of agronomy’ is the study of scientific facts related to the environmental conditions in which the crops are produced.

Definition of Agronomy:

Agronomy is a subdivision of agricultural science dealing with the practice of crop production and managing the soil, water, and field, in order to attain maximum productivity.

Scope of Agronomy:

With the advancement of technology and the increase in the expanse of knowledge related to the planet, environment, and agriculture, Agronomy has become more dynamic. The importance of Agronomy science in the field of agriculture is immense and is stated as follows:

• Agronomy helps the cultivators in identifying the most suitable season for the cultivation of a variety of crops.

• It helps in the identification and implication of suitable methods, in order to decrease the cost of cultivation and thereby increase the yield and profits.

• Agronomy also plays a major role in deciding the time, and amount of water to be applied on the field and through this water management, it helps us in saving a lot of water in the present day water-scarce conditions.

• Intensive cropping, which is the proper utilization of space and time, is a part of agronomy and helps us in managing our resources along with decreasing the hazards to the environment.

• With the depleting water resources, the future of agriculture is mainly reliant on dryland agriculture and agronomy plays a big role in it by coming up with new technologies to manage the scarce water conditions efficiently.

• Agronomy science deals efficiently with the package of practices of different new varieties of crops in order to explore their full potential.

• Managing the farm resources and utilizing them efficiently, in order to decrease labor costs could be made possible with the help of agronomy.

• Proper management of farm animals and their products, e.g., milk and eggs, and maintaining the accounts of the transactions involved with the farming business is also an important aspect of agronomy.

• Accessibility and application of chemical fertilizers have made the expanse of knowledge very crucial in order to decrease the harmful effects due to indiscriminate use and the loss in production due to the unscientific way of application.

• Accessibility of herbicides for controlling weeds has led to an expanse in the understanding of selectivity, time &way of its use.

• Agronomy has also made it possible for us to maintain the ecological balance with the help of rational management of crops, livestock, and their fodder in an efficient manner.