ASSIGNMENT

Write a short description of different cropping systems in your country (about 100 words). Try to use at least 10 terms introduced in this lesson. Make use of relative pronouns in constructing your compound sentences. 

Write the description in the comment box below.  

The following questions may help you get started:


Do some farmers in your country grow more than one crop at the same time? If so, where, and what crops do they plant?


If farmers grow fruit and vegetables at the same time, how do they set about this?


If farmers grow two or more crops, but not at the same time, what crops are used and what techniques are employed?


What are the advantages of growing several crops?


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Answer the following questions. Write your anawer in the comment box below.





What is polyculture?
Can you describe some of the important polyculture systems?
Which ones are practised in your country?
Which of these systems do you think are the most difficult for farmers to implement? Why?
Which systems are easier? Why?

English for Agriculture unit 6 POLYCULTURE GRAMMAR

 Relative Pronouns
Look at the following sentences:
Polyculture is an agricultural system.
In this system, two or more useful plants are grown on the same land.
Please note that:

• We don't want to repeat 'agricultural system' and thus we substitute the relative pronoun which to combine the two sentences into one, as shown below:

Polyculture is an agricultural system in which two or more useful plants are grown on the same land.

The relative pronouns and its use:
that (used for things)
which (used for things)
who (used for people)
whom (used for people)
whose (usually used for people - shows possession)
where (used for places)
Note:

• In speaking, 'that ' can be used for people, but not in formal, written English.

Examples:
1. where (used for places)
Look at these sentences:
Polyculture is the dominant farming systems in many areas.
In these areas, the degree of mechanization is low.
Note:

• Because we don't want to repeat 'areas', we substitute the relative pronoun where and combine the two sentences into one sentence with 2 phrases (i.e. a compound sentence).   The sentences could be wriiten as follows:

Polyculture is the dominant farming system in many countries where the degreee of mechanization remains low.
2. that (used for things)
Look at these  sentences:
These are seeds.
I bought them yesterday.
Combining the sentences using the relative pronoun that, you might come up with the following sentence:
These are seeds that I bought them yesterday.
Please note that:

• This is incorrect.  We don't need the pronoun them.
• Using a relative pronoun helps us to avoid repeating a noun phrase, or using a pronoun.   In this case, using the pronoun them.

The correct sentence is
These are the seeds that I bought yesterday.
Please note that:

• We added the before the word seed.
• With these types of sentences we need to use the. 

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COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES WITHTHE APROPRIATE PRONOUN. (THAT,WHICH,WHO,WHOM)

1. The book              she wrote was a best-seller.   

2. The book              inspired many students was written many years ago

3. The teacher          I was talking about now lives in Canada.--that

4. The teacher             inspired many students was well-known.

5. Ms Tate's publications,              have inspired many, are all on my bookshelves.  

6. The book                    many readers have learnt a lot from was written by that teacher.  

7. The teacher          many students were inspired by taught English literature.

8. The teacher                     every student looked up to retired 10 years ago.

9. The teacher             now lives in Canada was respected by many of her students.

10. The book             was written by her is still talked about.

11. The teacher                everybody respected remains single all her life.

12. The book               she wrote is used as a textbook in many literature courses.

13. The book              many courses use is published in only paperback editions.

14. The book               everybody is talking about does not cost much.

15. The teacher                       every student loved is still writing to her students.

16. Ms Tate,                 was trained in literature, has taught literature all her life.

17. The teacher                to  many students owe their success has taught in many countries.

18. The teaching to                many students owe their technique is captured in this book.

19. Ms Tate's letters,                her students are still inspired by, show how much she still cares for her students.

20. Ms Tate,                  many past students are still writing to, replies to all the letter.

21. Ms Tate's letters,                her students all treasure, contain words of wisdom.

22. Ms Tate,                      to  many of her students are writing, is living happily and peacefully in Canada.

English for Agriculture unit 6 READING: POLYCULTURE

Polyculture

Polyculture is a system in which two or more useful plants are grown on the same land. Variations within the system are multiple cropping, mixed cropping, intercropping, relay planting, interplanting, and interculture.
Multiple cropping is the growing of more than one crop in the same land in one year. For example, buckwheat  may be grown after harvesting peas . Both crops are grown as monoculture crops, but they are planted and harvested within  one year.
Mixed cropping is the growing of two or more crops simultaneously and intermingled , with no row arrangement.
Intercropping is the growing of two or more crops in alternate  rows , for example, maize alternating with soybean.
Relay planting is the practice of interplanting of the maturing  crop with seeds or seedlings of the following crop.
Interplanting is the practice of planting a short-term  annual crop with a long-term annual or biennial  crop. Oats  and alfalfa, for example, are commonly interplanted in the temperate zone.
Interculture is the cultivation of one crop underneath a perennial  crop, such as rice under coconut palm.
Polyculture is the dominant  farming system in many areas of the tropics, where the degree of mechanization and the use of agricultural chemicals remain low.

English for Agriculture unit 3 UPLAND FARMING grammar

Active Voice / Passive Voice

Look at the following sentences:

1. Most rice is grown in the lowlands.
2. Swidden farming is also called ‘shifting cultivation’.
3. It is found mainly in the uplands.
4. Most of the nutrients are stored in the living vegetation.
5. Soon, the nutrients are used up.
6. The land can be cleared for crops.

Please note that:

• These sentences are all examples of passive voice constructions.
• In passive voice, the emphasis is on what is done, not on who or what did it. Whereas, in the active voice, there is more emphasis on who is 'doing' the action.
• Passive voice is very common in agricultural English, especially in writing.

Active and Passive Voice Constructions

	Structure
Active Voice	subject   +   verb   +    object
example:	Farmers grow rice
Passive Voice	object changes to   +   verb   +   3rd subject            'to be'       verb
example:	Rice is grown (by farmers)

Using the above illustration, please note that:

• The '3rd verb' is often called the 'past participle'.
• In passive voice we often leave out who/what does the action (in this case, farmers) because we are more interested in what was done than who did it.

Examples:

Active Voice	Passive Voice
Many people eat rice every day.	Rice is eaten by many people every day.
Many people are eating rice now.	Rice is being eaten by many people now.
Many people will eat rice now.	Rice will be eaten by many people tomorrow.
Many people are going to eat rice tomorrow.	Rice is going to be eaten by many people tomorrow.
Many people ate rice yesterday.	Rice was eaten by many people yesterday.
Many people have eaten rice.	Rice has been eaten by many people.
Many people can eat rice.	Rice can be eaten by many people.

Active and Passive Voice with Verb Tenses

Active voice and passive voice can be made in all tenses.  But passive voice is difficult to construct because:

• The verb 'to be' is different for every tense

Tense	'to be'	Example
Present Simple	is / are	Rice is grown. Potatoes are grown.
Present Continuous	is being / are being	Rice is being grown. Potatoes are being grown.
Future Simple	will be	Rice will be grown. Potatoes will be grown.
Future with 'going to'	is going to be / are going to be	Rice is going to be grown. Potatoes are going to be grown.
Past Simple	was / were	Rice was grown. Potatoes were grown.
Present Perfect	has been / have been	Rice has been grown. Potatoes have been grown.
Auxilliary Construction	may be / can be / should be / etc.	Rice can be grown. Potatoes can be grown.

 

• The 3rd verb (past participle) is often different to the 2nd verb (past tense).

English for Agriculture unit 2 comprehension

COMPREHENSION

Write the answer to the following questions in the comment box.


a) Which is the most important crop in Asia?

b) What do farmers do to form bunds.?

c) What is a bund?

d)  After they build the bunds what do farmers do with them?

e) Briefly explain the activities in growing rice.

f) What is vital for high yields?

g) What else grows naturally in the rice fields?

Watch the following video and write a short summary of the video in the comment box. You may have to post more than one comment. write your name after each comment.

English for Agriculture: unit 2 lowland cultivation vocabulary

Vocabulary:


century (n) - 100 years
centuries (plural) - hundreds of years
Examples:

1. The 19th Century saw a large increase in heavy industries.
2. Agriculture has been developed and improved over many centuries.

disadvantage (n) - problem (opposite of advantage)
Examples:

1. If your children do not learn English while they are young, they will be at a disadvantage in later life.
2. This technique has both advantages and disadvantages.

fertile (adj.) - able to produce (especially for soil)
fertility (n)
Examples:

1. Soils in that region are especially fertile.
2. We can improve the fertility of soil.

finally (adv.)
final (adj.) - at the end
Examples:

1. It took a long time but we finally finished all the work.
2. It will be some time before we get the final results.

flood (n) - a lot of water where there is usually no water
flood (v)
Examples:

1. Most of the region was flooded for several days.
2. Floods damaged crops in many areas.

frogs (n) - type of animal that lives in water and on land, has very long legs for jumping and no tail
get rid of (v) - take out, remove something we don't want
Examples:

1. There are too many papers here. Can you get rid of some of them?
2. I have had this cold for weeks. I just can't seem to get rid of it.

grow (v) - to become bigger (grow-grew-grown)
growth (n)
Examples:

1. My son grew 10 cm. last year.
2. These plants will not grow in hot climates.

harvest (v) - cutting and gathering of food crops
harvest (n)
Examples:

1. The harvest was late this year.
2. These crops are easy to harvest.

hold (v) - to take and keep something (hold-held-held)
Examples:

1. This bottle can hold 1 ½ liters.
2. How much information can this disk hold?

level (v) - to make something flat
level (n)  - flat area
level (adj.) - having a flat surface
Examples:

1. This land will be difficult to level.
2. The car park has five levels.
3. To play our game, we will need to find a level piece of ground.

paddy (n) - rice field; unmilled rice
paddies (plural)
plow (v) - to turn over soil with a plow
plow (n) - farm tool used for plowing
note: British English – plough
Examples:

1. Most of the fields are plowed in the wet season.
2. Farmers have used plows for thousand of years.

relatively (adv.) - comparatively, quite
relative (adj.) - compared to
Examples:

1. The rooms are relatively large.( same as   The rooms are quite large.)
2. This is relatively easy. (same as This is not too difficult.)

seep (v) - when water moves slowly through something
Examples:

1. If bunds are not built carefully, water may seep out of the rice field.
2. Our roof was damaged last year. Now when it rains, some water seeps through.

shellfish (n) - animals with a shell that live in water
snails (n)  - small, slow-moving animal with a shell
tend to (adv.) - usually happens
Examples:

1. He is not a good worker. He tends to be lazy.
2. The rainy season tends to last for 4 or 5 months.

traditional (adj.)
tradition (n) - beliefs or systems passed from parents to children
traditionally (adv.)
Examples:

1. These are the traditional clothes worn by women in my country.
2. This is a very old tradition which people have carried out for centuries.
3. English people traditionally eat meat with two vegetables.

vary (v) - to change, to be different
varied (adj.) - different
variety (n) - different types
variable (adj.) - often changing
Examples:

1. Traditions vary from country to country.
2. We should eat a varied diet.
3. We need to use a variety of techniques.
4. Weather conditions in my country are variable.

vital (adj.) - very important
vitally (adv.)
Examples:

1. It is vital that you understand this! (same as It is very important that you understand this.)
2. This is vitally important! (same as This is very, very important.)

weed (n) - plant which we do not want
weed (v) - to take out weeds
Examples:

1. These fields need to be weeded at least two times during the growing season.
2. Some farmers do not believe that weeds are a problem.

yield (v) - produce, give a result
yield (n) - production, the result
Examples:

1. These varieties tend to yield well.

1. Rice yields in many countries are still too low.

bunds (n) - embankments between fields, also called levees and dikes
puddle (v) - to make wet soil very soft before planting crops
transplant (v) - to take plant from onelocation and put it in soil somewhere else
transplanted (adj)
transplantation (n)
Example:

1. The rice in that area was transplanted last week.

seedlings (n) - a young plant grown from seed as distinct from one grown by other methods
varieties (n) - groups of animals or plants within a species or sub-species.   Sometimes also called breed, race or strain.
varietal (adj)
Examples:

1. Scientists are always working to develop new varieties of plants and animals.
2. Varietal improvement is an important area of crop research.