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There are two ways of increasing the yield of farm crops. They are the cultivation of new lands and the increase in yields per hectare. In the recent past the first way was more popular. At present more agricultural products are obtained by intensification of agricultural production.

Intensification is based on mechanization, electrification and chemization which are the main sources of progress in agriculture. Most of agricultural processes in crop production and animal husbandry are mechanized now. They are the preparation of the soil, planting and harvesting crops, feeding farm animals and cleaning livestock buildings. Chemization of agriculture is increased by higher production and use of mineral fertilizers and other chemicals. They increase crop yields and quality.

Some other important intensive technologies are the development of better high-yielding varieties of crops, the application of most effective cultural practices, the breeding of better farm animals, the control of weeds, insects and diseases. All intensification factors must be used in such a way as not to damage the land which is the basis of agriculture.

Пояснения к тексту

1. per hectare — с гектара; на гектар

2. high-yielding — высокоурожайный

3. cultural practices — агротехнические приемы; агротехника

4. in such a way — таким образом

5. as not to damage — чтобы не повредить

SOIL.

Soil plays a vital and important role in the life of the world and mankind. It is in fact a highly organized physical, chemical and biological complex all of us are dependent on. As the supporter of vegetable life, the soil plays the most fundamental of roles in providing food for all animals and men.

Soils develop under the influences of climate, vegetation, slope and drainage, time, the nature of the parent material, and the culture. Climate influences plants, animals and soil directly. Plants influence the soil, the animals and the climate near the ground. Animals play a considerable role in soil development, the type of soil often influences the animals which are present in it, while the animals also influence the vegetation which is growing in the soil. Finally climate, through weathering, influences the rocks, which in time before part of the soil through the processes of soil formation.

All soils do not have the same utility, but man uses different soils in different ways. "Good" land for the production of food-stuffs must lie well and have good depth, for yields are dependent upon the ability of the soil to take up and use fertilizers and water. Man has done much to adapt crops to he soil and to provide various kinds of fertilizers for plant growth and development. Soils that are not good for the production of food-stuffs may be valuable in other ways. For example, podzols in high elevations are poor for crops but they comprise excellent forest soils.

Each soil series requires skilful handling if it is to produce to its maximum potential; but no two series make the same demands. From season to season conditions of temperature and moisture change, so the farmer must change his management to produce better drainage, improve tilth, prevent erosion, and test his soil to identify the proper kind and he correct proportion of fertilizer needed. Only by careful study of the soil, resulting in an understanding of the complex­ity of its nature and uses, will man be able to provide food for all the people who will inhabit the earth. The soil cannot reproduce itself. Therefore, man should improve it through good management and treatment so that future generations can farm more efficiently than their fathers and grandfathers have done. Man can improve the soil now in use and even dis­cover how more kinds of soils can be utilized more productively. So, the results obtained in soil science can be applied to practical problems in agriculture, horticulture, forestry, engineering, and in planning the future use of land.