Abstract
Agriculture has been constantly evolving since the initial agricultural revolution some 10,000 years ago. This initial revolution was the result of domestication of plants and animals to serve man’s needs and led to the generation of food production in excess of the requirements of the agricultural population. This agricultural surplus was available for consumption by city dwellers, and the growth of local trading centers and cities began. This development of urban centers allowed man’s energies to be channeled into nonagricultural activities and led to the advances in scientific knowledge and subsequent technological advances upon which modern agriculture is so heavily based (1).
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Braidwood, R. J. 1960. “The Agricultural Revolution,” Scientific American, 203: 130–134.
Brown, L. R. 1970. “Human Food Production as a Process in the Biosphere,” Scientific American, 223: 160–170.
Hayami, Y., and V. W. Ruttan. 1971. Agricultural Development: An International Perspective, Johns Hopkins Press, Baltimore, Maryland.
Ruthenberg, H. 1971. Farming Systems in the Tropics, Clarendon Press, Oxford, England.
Boserup, E. 1966. The Conditions of Agricultural Growth, George Allen and Unwin, London, England.
Thomas, W. L. (ed). 1956. Man’s Role in Changing the Face of the Earth, Aldine, Chicago, Illinois.
Mingay, G. E. 1963. “The Agricultural Revolution in English History: A Reconsideration,” Agricultural History, 37: 123–133.
Pinstrup-Andersen, Per. 1976. “Preliminary Estimates of the Contribution of Fertilizer to Cereal Production in Developing Market Economies,” The Journal of Economics, 2: 169–172.
Herdt, R. W., and R. Barker. 1975. “Possible Effects of Fertilizer Shortages on Rice Production in Asian Countries,” IN Impact of Fertilizer Shortage: Focus on Asia, pp. 205–240. Asian Productivity Organization, Tokyo.
Ewell, R. 1976. “Fertilizer Use and Food Production,” Unpublished paper prepared for UNIDO.
Christensen, R., W. Hendrix, and R. Stevens. 1964. How the United States Improved its Agriculture, USDA, ERS Foreign Agricultural Economic Report No. 76, Washington, D.C.
Council for Agricultural Science and Technology. 1974. The U.S. Fertilizer Situation and Outlook, Iowa State University Press, Arnes, Iowa.
Shaw, L. H., and D. D. Durost. 1965. The Effect of Weather and Technology on Corn Yields in the Corn Belt, 1929–62, Agricultural Economics Report No. 80., USDA, Washington, D.C.
Auer, L., and E. O. Heady. 1967. “The Contribution of Weather and Yield Technology to Changes in U.S. Corn Production, 1939 to 1961,” IN Weather and Our Food Supply, CAED Report 20, Center for Agricultural and Economic Development, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa.
Auer, L., E. O. Heady, and F. Conklin.’ 1966. “Influence of Crop Technology on Yields,” Iowa Farm Science, 20: 13–16.
Perrin, R. K., and E. O. Heady. 1975. Relative Contributions of Major Technological Factors and Moisture Stress to Increased Grain Yields in the Midwest, 1930–1971, CARD Report 55, Center for Agricultural and Rural Development, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa.
Free, W. J., B. J. Bond, and J. L. Nevins. 1976. “Changing Patterns in Agriculture and Their Effect on Fertilizer Use,” TVA Fertilizer Conference, July 27–28, TVA Bulletin Y-106, Tennessee Valley Authority, Muscle Shoals, Alabama.
Evenson, R. E. 1974. “The ‘Green Revolution’ in Recent Development Experience,” Yale University, (mimeo), New Haven, Connecticut.
Schultz, T. W. 1964. Transforming Traditional Agriculture, Yale University Press, New Haven, Connecticut.
Buckman, H. D., and N. C. Brady. 1969. The Nature and Properties of Soils, Macmillan Co., New York, New York.
Heady, E. O. 1952. Economics of Agricultural Production and Resource Use, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.
Anderson, J. R. 1967. “Economic Interpretation of Fertilizer Response Data,” Review of Marketing and Agricultural Economics, 35: 43–57.
Anderson, J. R., J. L. Dillon, and J. B. Hardaker. 1977. Agricultural Decision Analysis, Iowa State University Press, Ames, Iowa.
Rae, A. N. 1977. Crop Management Economics, St. Martin’s Press, New York, New York.
Bowden, J. W., and D. Bennett. 1974. “The Decide Model for Predicting Superphosphate Requirements,” IN Phosphate in Agriculture, Australian Institute of Agricultural Science, Victorian Branch, Melbourne, Victoria.
Kennedy, J.O.S., I. F. Whan, R. Jackson, and J. L. Dillon. 1973. “Optimal Fertilizer Carryover and Crop Recycling Policies for a Tropical Grain Crop,” Australian Journal of Agricultural Economics, 17: 104–113.
Stauber, M. S., O. R. Burt, and F. Linse. 1975. “An Economic Evaluation of Nitrogenous Fertilization of Grasses when Carry-Over is Significant,” American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 57: 463–471.
Colwell, J. D. 1973. “Assessments of the Relative Values of Compound Nitrogen-Phosphorus Fertilizers for Wheat Production,” Australian Journal of Agricultural Economics, 57: 463–471.
Fertilizer Subsidies: Alternative Policies.“ 1976. Proceedings of FAO/FICA Ad Hoc Working Party on the Economics of Fertilizer Use, Rome, Italy.
The Use of Direct or Fertilizer Subsidies in Developing Countries.“ 1978. Proceedings of FAO/FICA. Ad Hoc Working Party on the Economics of Fertilizer Use, Rome, Italy.
Suggested Fertilizer-Related Policies for Governments and International Agencies.“ 1977. Technical Bulletin IFDC T-10, International Fertilizer Development Center, Muscle Shoals, Alabama.
Mudahar, M. S., and P. Pinstrup-Andersen. 1977. “Fertilizer Policy Issues and Implications in Developing Countries,” FAI/IFDC Seminar Proceedings, New Delhi, India.
Sidhu, S. S., and C. A. Baanante. 1978. Farm-Level Fertilizer Demand for Mexican Wheat Varieties in the Indian Punjab, mimeo, International Fertilizer Development Center, Muscle Shoals, Alabama.
Mudahar, M.S. 1978. “Needed Information and Economic Analysis for Fertilizer Policy Formulation, ” Indian Journal of Agricultural Economics, 33 (3): 40–67.
Herdt, R. W., and J. W. Mellor. 1964. “The Contrasting Response of Rice to Nitrogen: India and the United States,” Journal of Farm Economics, 46: 150–161.
Arndt, T. A., D. Dalrymple, and V. W. Ruttan (eds.). 1977. Resource Allocation and Productivity in National and International Research. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1985 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Hignett, T.P. (1985). Role of Fertilizer in Agriculture. In: Hignett, T.P. (eds) Fertilizer Manual. Developments in Plant and Soil Sciences, vol 15. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-1538-6_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-1538-6_3
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-90-481-8290-9
Online ISBN: 978-94-017-1538-6
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive