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Agronomy is the application of science and technology from the fields of biology,
chemistry, economics, ecology, soil science, water science, pest management
and genetics to the improvement and management of the major food crops of the
world.
History of Agronomy at UC
In 1904, a Division of Experimental Agronomy was established in the College of
Agriculture of the University of California, Berkeley. From the beginning, the
division's major emphasis was on cereal crops. By 1906, it was clear that a Berkeley
location for experimental work could not meet requirements of the agriculture that
was developing in the Central Valley, and the division was largely shifted to the
University Farm at Davis. The two-year non-degree program included practical work
in agronomy, while experiment station research focused on developing improved
cereal and range crop varieties.
In the early years of the division, the faculty was largely organized by crop or
commodity basis, each member having a specialization such as plant breeding, crop
physiology, or soil fertility. There were active programs on wheat, barley, rye grass,
white and berseem clovers, all classes of dry beans, safflower and other oil crops,
cotton, sugar beets, range improvement, seed certification, and foundation seed.
Plant breeding was a major part of the department's research, with an active
program in cereals, forage and food legumes, and oil crops.The division of
agronomy, like the entire teaching program at Davis, was rebuilt after World War II
and the faculty in the renamed Department of Agronomy grew rapidly in number,
forming a young, energetic group similar in age.
In 1968, the name of the department was changed to Agronomy and Range Science
to reflect the inclusion of a program devoted to the management of range lands,
which constitute a significant portion of the state. Over the years, departmental
faculty and staff became active in other areas as well, including Integrated Pest
Management and the Plant Growth Laboratory. Members of the department played a
significant role in the development of cross-departmental programs such as the
Genetic Resources Conservation Program, the Sustainable Agriculture Research and
Education Program, the Sustainable Agriculture Farming Systems Project, the Long-
Term Research in Agricultural Systems 100-year experiment, the East Asia Center on
Population Resources and Welfare, and the Global Livestock Collaborative Research
Project.
Throughout subsequent years, the department was organized along four major broad
disciplinary lines: genetics, breeding, and genomics; quantitative agronomy
(applications of information technology to agriculture); crop physiology and ecology;
and range and natural resource management. The department's ongoing challenge
was to span the full spectrum of research from the basic to the applied levels.
Outreach continued to be an essential component of department activities, with
UCCE statewide specialists and farm advisors assuring the relevance of research
programs. In 2004, the department was consolidated with three other departments
(Environmental Horticulture, Pomology, and Vegetables Crops) to form the new
broadly-defined Department of Plant Sciences.
O que Agronomia?
Histria da Agronomia na UC
Em 1904, uma Diviso de Agronomia Experimental foi estabelecida na Faculdade de
Agricultura da Universidade da Califrnia, em Berkeley. Desde o incio, a maior
nfase da diviso foi nas culturas de cereais. Em 1906, ficou claro que um local de
Berkeley para o trabalho experimental no poderia atender aos requisitos da
agricultura que estava se desenvolvendo no Vale Central, e a diviso foi amplamente
transferida para a Universidade Farm em Davis. O programa de no-licenciatura de
dois anos incluiu trabalho prtico em agronomia, enquanto a pesquisa da estao
experimental se concentrou no desenvolvimento de variedades de cereais e
variedades de variedades melhoradas.
Nos primeiros anos da diviso, a faculdade foi em grande parte organizada por base
de cultura ou commodity, cada membro possuindo uma especializao, como a
criao de plantas, a fisiologia das culturas ou a fertilidade do solo. Houve programas
ativos sobre trigo, cevada, centeio, trufas brancas e berseem, todas as classes de
feijo seco, crtamo e outras culturas oleaginosas, algodo, beterraba aucareira,
melhoramento do intervalo, certificao de sementes e sementes de fundaes. A
criao de plantas foi uma parte importante da pesquisa do departamento, com um
programa ativo em cereais, forragens e legumes, e culturas de petrleo. A diviso de
agronomia, como todo o programa de ensino em Davis, foi reconstruda aps a
Segunda Guerra Mundial e a faculdade em O renomeado Departamento de
Agronomia cresceu rapidamente em nmero, formando um grupo jovem e
energtico semelhante em idade.