Delmar’s Agriscience Dictionary with Searchable CD–ROM Ray V. Herren & Roy L. Donahue Online Services Delmar Online To access a wide variety of Delmar products and services on the World Wide Web, point your browser to: http://www.delmar.com Internet or email: [email protected] A service of Delmar’s Agriscience Dictionary with Searchable CD–ROM Ray V. Herren & Roy L. Donahue Delmar Publishers an International Thomson Publishing company Albany • Bonn • Boston • Cincinnati • Detroit • London • Madrid Melbourne • Mexico City • New York • Pacific Grove • Paris • San Francisco Singapore • Tokyo • Toronto • Washington NOTICE TO THE READER Publisher does not warrant or guarantee any of the products described herein or perform any independent analysis in connection with any of the product infor- mation contained herein. Publisher does not assume, and expressly disclaims, any obligation to obtain and include information other than that provided to it by the manufacturer. 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No part of this work covered by the copyright hereon may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means—graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or information storage and retrieval systems—without the written permission of the publisher. 12345678910XXX030201009998 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Herren, Ray V. Delmar’s agriscience dictionary with searchable CD-ROM / Ray V. Herren & Roy L. Donahue. p. cm. Summary: Provides definitions for more than 15,000 terms in the fields of Animal Science, Business and Mechanical Technology, Forestry, and Natural Resources Management. ISBN 0-7668-1146-8 1. Agriculture--Dictionaries, Juvenile. [1. Agriculture--Dictionaries.] I. Donahue, Roy Luther, 1908- . II. Title. III. Title: Agriscience dictionary with searchable CD-ROM. S411.H476 1999 630’.3--dc21 98-45647 CIP AC Contents Preface........vi Part 1 Animal Science........AS-1 Part 2 Business and Mechanical Technology........BT-1 Part 3 Forestry and Natural Resources Management........NR-1 Part 4 Plant Science........PS-1 v Preface Agriculture today is becoming increasingly more technical and all encompassing. Modern agriculture is a broad, diverse science and has, like any other discipline, a language of its own. Keeping abreast of the terminology of an ever-changing industry is a complicated task. Delmar’s Agriscience Dictionary with Searchable CD–ROM is a unique product that can be used in the classroom as well as for indi- vidual studies and it will help to bridge the gap across all branches of agriculture. It is an up-to-date, authoritative source of over 15,000 dictionary terms and defin- itions. These terms and definitions are divided into four sections to correspond with the four agriscience topic areas of Animal Science, Business and Mechanical Technology, Forestry and Natural Resources Management, and Plant Science. The terms in each of these sections are presented in A–Z order for easy access, and the terms that have different definitions for the same word or process will be repeated in the sections where the definition would be most appropriate based on definition content. The searchable CD–ROM adds to the uniqueness of this dictionary. All of the terms and definitions in the print dictionary are available on the CD–ROM and are also divided into the four agriscience topic areas. The CD–ROM also allows the user to search within the four agriscience sections for a term and the definition of that term will automatically appear once the term is found. Terms are available alphabetically and in a scrollable format per letter of the alphabet by section. A navigation bar and agriscience icons will help the user to reach the main screens and each of the four sections quickly and easily enhancing the user-friendliness of this added value technology component. vi Part 1 Animal Science A.U.–Acetone AS-2 Absorption–(1) The processes by which water enters the earth. (2) The passage of digested food from the alimentary tract into the circula- tory system. (3) The intake of water, gases, nutrients or other sub- stances by plants. Absorption Rate–The rate at which a chemical enters the body. Abundance–The number of plants or animals per unit area. Acariasis–The condition of plants or animals infested with mites or ticks. A.U.–(Abbr.) Animal unit. Acaricide–A substance, solution, or paste which kills mites or ticks. A-type Merino–A type variation in the Merino breed of sheep which Acarid–Any mite or tick of the family Acaridae or order Acarina. has very wrinkled skin covered with a fine-wool fleece and many body folds. See Merino. Acarine–Any mite or tick. Abacterial–Free from bacteria. Acarine Disease–A disease of adult bees caused by a mite, Acarapis woodi, infesting the tracheae; not known to be present in North Amer- Abattoir–A slaughterhouse. ica. Abderdeen Angus–A breed of beef cattle originally from Scotland, Acarology–The branch of science that deals with mites and ticks. which are black, hornless, and hardy. Also called Angus, Black Angus, doddie. Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI)–The daily dosage of a drug or a chemical residue that appears to present no appreciable risk to health Abdomen–In mammals, that part of the body which contains the during the entire lifetime of a human being or animal. digestive organs; in lower orders of animals and insects that part of the body which roughly corresponds to the abdomen; belly. Acclimate–To become conditioned to a new climate or different growing environment, usually applied to plants. (See Hardening-off.) Aberration–In genetics, an irregularity in chromosome distribution May also be applied to animals adjusting to a new environment. during cell division that results in deviation from normal. Accredited Herd–Dairy cattle certified to be free from tuberculosis Abiotic Disease–A disease caused by an inanimate agent; a nonpara- as a result of two successive tests given under the direction of the sitic disease. Also called physiogenic disease; e.g., a mineral deficiency United States Department of Agriculture. The term is sometimes erro- in plants or animals. neously applied to a brucellosis-free herd. Ablactate–To wean. Accumulated Grazing–Forage reserved for later use by livestock. Abnormal–Deviating from that which is typical. Accumulating Pesticide–A chemical that can build up in animals or Abomasum–The fourth, or true, stomach division of a ruminant, or in the environment. cud-chewing animal, such as a cow or sheep. The compound stomach Accuracy (of selection)–The correlation between an animal’s consists of: (1) rumen or paunch, (2) reticulum, (3) omasum, (4) unknown actual breeding value and a calculated estimated breeding abomasum. Herbage is swallowed nearly unchewed, and passes into value. the rumen or reticulum, from which it is regurgitated and masticated in Acetic Acid–An organic acid, CH COOH, which is the chief active com- the mouth while the animal is resting. It is then swallowed again and 3 passed through the reticulum ad omasum into the abomasum, where it ponent of vinegar; also important as a product in lactic acid fermenta- is acted on by the gastric juices. tion and therefore, an important constituent of flavor in many milk products. Abort–(1) In animals, to expel the embryo or fetus from the womb prematurely. See Brucellosis, Leptospirosis. (2) In plants, to produce Acetic Bacteria–The bacteria that produce acetic acid (vinegar acid) few or no seeds, or to drop fruit prematurely. from alcohol. Abortion–The presentation of a dead, undeveloped fetus. Acetic Fermentation–The process by means of which acetic acid is formed from ethyl alcohol in weak solution through the action of bac- Abortive–Defective or barren. terial ferments; e.g., the formation of vinegar from hard cider or from Abscess–Localized collection of pus in a cavity formed by the disinte- wine. gration of tissue. Acetobacter–A bacterium, family Nitobacteriaceae, which grows in Absconding Swarm–A bee colony which abandons a hive because of beer and wine.