Engle Za

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UNIVERSITATEA DE ŞTIINŢE AGRICOLE ŞI MEDICINĂ VETERINARĂ

“ ION IONESCU DE LA BRAD “ IAŞI

FACULTATEA DE AGRICULTURA ÎNVĂŢĂMÂNT LA DISTANŢĂ

OLGA PÂNZARU

LIMBA ENGLEZĂ

Iaşi, 2001

Editura “ Ion Ionescu de la Brad “

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Cuvânt înainte

Obiectivul disciplinelor de limbi străine în instituţiile de învăţămînt superior cu profil

nefilologic îl constituie în majoritatea cazurilor introducerea studenţilor în limbajul textelor de

specialitate prin familiarizarea cu particularităţile stilului ştiinţific, cu modalitatea de formare a

vocabularului de specialitate şi cu diferite tehnici de traducere care să le permită cursanţilor să

consulte literatura de profil în limba străină respectivă.

În acord cu acest deziderat, lucrarea de faţă este destinată tuturor celor ce studiază în

domeniul agriculturii, cât şi celor care lucrează deja în acest domeniu şi care au nevoie de

elemente de limbaj specializat în viaţa lor profesională.

Cursul poate fi utilizat de oricine aflat deja la un nivel mediu sau avansat de cunoaştere

a limbii engleze şi care doreşte să-şi îmbunătăţească bagajul de cunoştinţe de specialitate.

Lucrarea este împărţită în module. Fiecare modul se referă la câte o problemă

particulară din domeniul agriculturii.

Modulele sunt structurate după o schemă comună:

text de specialitate

explicaţii la text

exerciţii ( teste de autoevaluare, teste de verificare a cunoştinţelor dobândite în

modulele anterioare, exerciţii libere creative )

Textele selecţionate din diverse tratate, manuale, cursuri şi lucrări din literatura de

specialitate engleză şi română, au fost organizate după criterii ale disciplinelor de predare cu

profil agricol pentru a facilita asimilarea firească a unor expresii şi cuvinte de uz curent.

Fiecare text de specialitate, pe lângă cuvintele şi expresiile englezeşti cu echivalentele

lor din limba română este însoţit de un număr de exerciţii lexico – gramaticale care au drept scop

fixarea elementelor de vocabular şi a noţiunilor de gramatică.

O atenţie deosebită se acordă activităţilor de traducere şi retroversiune, considerându –

se că acestea ilustrază cel mai bine competenţa lingvistică a cursanţilor, iar exerciţiile creative

solicită opinii personale din partea cursanţilor privind problema abordată.

Autoarea

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THE PARTS OF A PLANT AND THEIR FUNCTIONS

The importance of plant life on earth cannot be overemphasized. Without plants, life on

earth could not exist. Directly or indirectly, plants are the primary source of food for humans and

animals. Whether people eat plants or eat animals that feed on plants, plant life is vital as a food

source.

Plants play another essential role by producing oxygen.Without oxygen, life on earth could

not exist.Plants are the major producers of oxygen on this planet. All plant life, from the smallest

plankton in the ocean to the giant redwood tree, works to produce oxygen.

In addition to supplying food and oxygen, plants help to keep us cool, renew the air, slow

down the wind, hold soil in place, provide a home for wild life, beautify our sourroundings,

perfume the air, and furnish building materials and fuel.

A plant is a living organism. It is made up of different parts, each of which has a particular

purpose, or specialized function. If one part of the plant is not functioning properly the whole plant

will suffer. But we may cut flowers off the plant or prune the roots. Such damage is only temporary

and so the plant will continue to grow.

The basic parts of a plant are the root system, which is below the ground, and the shoot

system above. The root of a plant has two main functions. It takes in, or absorbs, water and minerals

from the soil through the root hairs, which are single cells near the tip of each root. The other main

function of the root is to hold, or anchor, the plant firmly in position in the soil.

The shoot system above the ground consists of the stem, the leaves, flowers and fruit. One of

the functions of the stem is to support the plant. Another important function is to enable water and

minerals to pass up from the roots to the leaves and flowers. Organic materials such as sugar travel

MODULE 1

4 down the stem to the roots. The leaves grow out of the side of the stem. Their main job is to make

food for the plant by the process known as photosynthesis. For this process sunlight is necessary.

Water from the soil and carbon dioxide from the air are converted into sugars and other

carbohydrates. During the process oxygen is formed and released into the air.

The flower contains the reproductive organs of the plant. The stamens produce the male sex

cells, or spermatic, which are carried in the pollen grains. The carpel produces the female sex cells,

or ovules. The fruit, the ripened ovary of the flower, encloses the seeds and protects them while

they are developing. The seed itself consists of an embryo and foodstore. The embryo is the part

which will develop into another plant and the footsore is necessary to provide nourishment for the

young plant while it is growing.

EXPLANATORY NOTES

Words and Phrases

to prune = a tăia, a scurta (crăci, ramuri)

root system = sistem radicular

root hairs = peri absobanţi (radiculari)

stamen pl. stamina = stamină

pollen grains = grăunciori de polen

root tip = vărful rădăcinii

leaf (pl. leaves) = frunză, foaie, foiţă

shoot = lăstar

EXERCISES

SELF - EVALUATION

1. Rewrite the following sentences replacing the words printed in italics with

expressions from the text which have the same meaning.

5 EXAMPLE

The roots of plants take in water and minerals from the soil.

The roots of plants absorb water and minerals from the soil.

a) The single cells near the tip of each root increase their surface area by extending outwards from

the root.

b) The root holds the plant firmly in position in the soil.

c) Sunlight provides the energy for the process of converting water from the soil and carbon

dioxide from the air into sugars and other carbohydrates.

d) While growing, the seeds are protected by the ripened ovary of the flower.

2. Complete the following text by filling in the blank spaces with the expressions given

below. A dotted line ……….. requires a phrase to be added and a straight line _______

requires a word to be added.

roots shoot system soil

soil air carbon dioxide photosynthesis

made up of ripened ovary water and minerals

seed living such as

function specialized more fertile

by reproductive organs consists of

their roots orgnic materials process

conversion are produced carbohydrates

A plant is a living organism ………. different parts each of which has a _______function.

The basic parts of a plant are the root system and the ………..

The root absorbs water and minerals from the _________.

6 The shoot system ………. the stem, the leaves, flowers and fruit. An important ________ of

the stem is to enable ………. to pass up to the leaves and flowers and ………. such as sugar to

travel down to the _________. In the leaves __________ takes place. The process results in the

________ of water from th soil and ………. from the air into sugars and other _________. During

the _______ oxygen is formed and released into the air. The plant’s ………. are contained in the

flower. The spermatia ………. by the stamens and the ovules are produced ________ the carpel.

The fruit, the ………. of the flower, encloses and protects the _________.

☺ PROGRESS TEST

Translate into Romanian:

The function of the embryo in the seed is to develop into an adult plant. The first stage in the

process whereby this is done is called germination. In this process the seed ‘awakens’ from its

dormant state and starts growing.

The function of the flower is to bring about the reproduction of the plant. The first stage in

the process whereby this is done is called pollination. In this process the pollen grains are

transferred from the stamens to the stigma of the female parts. The next stage is called fertilization.

In this process one of the male gametes from the pollen unites with the female gamete in the ovule.

ROOTS

Roots are usually underground and, therefore, are not easily visible. Roots function to

• anchor the plant and hold it upright.

• absorb water and minerals from the soil and conduct them to the stem.

• store large quantities of plant food.

• propagate or reproduce some plants.

The first three functions are essential to all plants.

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Structure.The internal structure of a root is much like that of a stem. Older roots of shrubs

and trees have phloem ( corklike bark ) on the outside, a cambium layer, and xylem

( wood ) inside, just as stems do. The phloem carries manufactured food down to the root for food

and storage and the xylem carries water and minerals up to the stem.

The external structure of the root is very different form that of the stem. Whereas the stem

has a terminal bud which initiates new growth, roots have a root cap. Just behind the root cap are

many root hairs. Side roots of increasing size form as the root grows older.The root cap produces a

continous supply of new cells which rub off to lubricate a path and protect the cap and new root as

the root pushes its way through the soil. The root hairs absorb moisture and minerals which are

conducted to the larger roots and to the stem of the plant.

In addition to their function within the plant itself, many roots are important as cash crops

for food. Vegetables such as carrots, beets, radishes, and sweet potatoes are all roots. Roots also

serve in the process of propagation.

Type of Root System. The ease with which nursery stock is transplanted or moved depends

to a great extent on the type of root system that the plant possesses.

Fibrous Root System v. Tap Root System. Plants with fibrous root system are much easier

to transplant than plants which have tap root systems.The tap root system has longer and fewer

roots. Because of this, much of the root system is cut off when a plant is dug. The ends of the roots

which are lost in the cutting contain many root hairs necessary in the absorption of water and

minerals from the soil. The larger roots serve only to conduct and store water, nutrients, and food. If

too many of the small roots are lost, the plant may not be

able to replenish the moisture lost by the leaves, and the plant will dry out and die. Heavy pruning

of the top of the plant may prevent this from happening.

EXPLANATORY NOTES

Words and Phrases

xylem = s. xilem, ţesut lemons

cambium = s. cambiu

root cap = s.piloriză (scufia sau caliptra )

fibrous root = s. radăcină fibroasă

8 taproot = radăcină pivotantă

phloem = s. floem, ţesut liberian

EXERCISES

SELF – EVALUATION

• Which of the following is not a function of roots ?

a) storage of food

b) absorption of water

c) anchoring of plants

d) manufacture of food

• Plants are easier to transplant if they have a:

a) tap root system

b) large root system

c) fibrous root system

d) small root system

• The major function of root hairs is to:

a) grow into larger roots

b) absorb water and minerals from the soil

c) protect the root as it pushes through the soil

d) keep the root warm

☺ PROGRESS TEST

Translate into English:

Rădăcina este un organ principal vegetativ al cromofitelor. Creşte de obicei în sol şi are ca

funcţii specifice fixarea plantei la substrat şi absorbţia din sol a apei cu sărurile minerale. Pe lângă

9 fucţiile specifice, în rădăcină au loc procese fundamentale ale vieţii, cum ar fi: hrănirea, respiraţia,

creşterea, ca şi unele funcţii deosebite, ca urmare a faptului că rădăcina poate suferi uneori procese

de metamorfozare.

STEMS

Stems have two main functios: (1) the movement of materials, such as the movement of

water and minerals from roots upward to the leaves, and the movement of manufactured food from

the leaves down to the roots and (2) the support of the leaves and reproductive structures (flowers

and fruit or seeds). Stems are also used for food storage, and for the reproduction methods which

involve stem cuttings or grafting. Green stems manufacture food just as leaves do.

External Stem Structure. The outside of the stem consist of lenticels,or breathing

pores,bud scale scars and leaf scars.Bud scale scars indicate where a terminal bud has been located

a previous year. The distance between two scars represents one year of growth.Leaf scars show

where leaves were attached.

Internal Stem Structure. The stem of woody plants is composed of bark called phloem

and wood called xylem. Water and minerals travel up the sapwood, or xylem, and manufactured

food travels down the bark, or phloem. These two layers are separated by the cambium which

produces all new cells. This stem structure is typical of dicots, plants which have two seed leaves.

Dicot stems may continue to grow because the cambium builds new phloem cells on the outside and

new xylem cells on the inside.

Some plants, such as grasses, have a different stem structure.These plants are referred to as

monocots because they have only one cotyledon (seed leaf).Corn is an example of a monocot.Notice

that the monocot stem has no cambium.All cells are formed in the initial stage of stem growth and

merely and large to create the size of the mature stem. There is no further enlargement of stem size

by formation of new cells.

10 EXPLANATORY NOTES

Words and Phrases

terminal bud / lateral bud = mugure terminal / mugure lateral

leaf scar = s. cicatricea frunzei

bark = s.scoarţă,coajă

woody stems = tulpini lemnoase

propagation = înmulţire, creştere, cultivare

grafting = s. altoire

stock = s. (bot.) portaltoi

pruning = s. tăiere, scurtare (crăci, ramuri)

EXERCISES

SELF – EVALUATION

• Two main functions of stems are :

a) to store food and move water up to the leaves

b) movement of materials and support of plant parts

c) to manufacture food and store it for future use

d) to furnish food for human beings and other animals

• The xylem, or wood, of a stem:

a) conducts manufactured food down to the roots

b) is very hard

c) is green in color

d) conducts water and minerals up to the leaves

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• Which of the following is not a function of roots?

a) storage of food

b) absorption of water

c) anchoring of plants

d) manufacture of food

☺ PROGRESS TEST


Tulpina este un organ vegetativ, care ia naştere din muguraşul embrionului (plumula).

Tuplina dă naştere la muguri, susţine frunzele, florile şi mai târziu fructele şi stabileşte legătura

morfo-fiziologică între aceste organe şi rădăcină. Ţesuturile produse de meristemele primare

formează structura primară a tulpinei.

LEAVES

Leaves are the food factory of the plant, producing all food that is used by the plant and

stored for later use by the plant or by animals.

Leaves vary a great deal in shape and size.Most leaves are flat. Some, such as the leaves of

pine trees, are needlelike, while others, such as onion leaves are cylindrical.The shape and size of

leaves helps to identify plants.

The arrangement of leaves on plants also differs. Some plants have leaves which alternate on

the stem; some are positioned opposite one another.Others are whorled (arranged in a circle around

the stem).

External leaf structure. Leaves consist of the petiole, or leaf stalk, and the blade, a larger,

usually flat part of the leaf.Notice that the leaf blade has veins and midrib.The midrib is the large

center vein from which all other leaf veins extend.

The veins of the leaf form its strucural framework.Most leaves have one of the forms:oval,

needle, cordate, ovate, round, spatulate, lanceolate, linear, wedge shaped.Leaves have different

12 margins: entire, undulate, crenate, dentate, serrate, incised. Awareness of different leaf margins

assists in plant identification.

Internal leaf structure. Internally, leaves have specialized cells which perform very

important tasks. The skin of the leaf, called the epidermis, is a single layer of cells. Its chief

function is to protect the leaf from loss of too much moisture. There are special cells in the leaf skin

known as guard cells. These cells open and close a small space or pore on the underside of the leaf

called a stoma to allow the leaf to breathe and transpire, or give off moisture.

In the center of the leaf are food-making cells which contain chloroooplasts. The green color

of the chloroplasts, which gives green leaves their colour, comes from the chlorophyll they

contain.These cells , through a process called photosynthesis, manufacture food.

Food manufactured in the leaves moves downward through the stem to the roots. It is then

used by the plant or stored in the stem or root in the form of sugar, starch, or protein.The leaves

themselves are also used as food for various animals , including human beings.They are often the

most nutritious part of the plant.

EXPLANATORY NOTES

Words and Phrases

leafstalk = s. peţiol

blade = s. (bot.) limb

vein = s. (bot.) nervură

stalk / petiole = s. peţiol

midrib = s. nervură principală

guard cell = s. celulă protectoare

EXERCISES

SELF – EVALUATION

• The green color of leaves is caused by tiny particles in the food-producing cells called :

13 a) guard cells

b) epidermis

c) chloroplasts

d) starch

• Green plants are able to manufacture food only in the presence of

a) light

b) carbon dioxide

c) water

d) all of these

☺ PROGRESS TEST


Frunza este alcătuită în general din trei părţi componente: limb (sau lamină ), peţiol, şi

teacă.Această frunză, la care deosebim cele trei părţi componente, se numeşte frunză completă;

adesea, însă, lipsesc peţiolul şi teaca sau numai teaca, sau lipsesc limbul,şi peţiolul, în aceste cazuri

fiind vorba de frunze incomplete.Limbul este partea turtită a frunzei, de culoare verde, străbătută de

nervuri. Limbul este şi partea cea mai importantă a frunzei, fiindcă îndeplineşte fotosinteza. După

forma limbului se defineşte tipul de frunză.

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FLOWERS

To most people, flowers are something of beauty meant to be seen and enjoyed. Some

people usually think of fruits and seeds as healthful foods. The parts that are admired and enjoyed

by human beings, however , have an entirely different purpose for the plant.

The beauty of the flower, for example, is necessary to attract insects. In their visits for nectar

or pollen, these insects fertilize the flower by means of a process called pollination. This is the

beginning of fruit and seed formation. The fruits and seeds are made attractive to animals and birds

so that they are collected, eaten, and spread. This, in turn, reproduces the plant.

Flowers differ in such features as size, shape, and color, but generally have the same basic

parts. These basic parts are necessary for the production of seeds.

A complete flower has both male and female parts and only one parent is necessary if the

plant is self-fruitful, or can pollinate itself.

The complete flower contains four main parts: sepals, petals, stamen, and pistil.

The sepal is the green leaflike part of the flower which covers and protects the flower bud

before it opens.

The petals are actually leaves, but are generally known as the most striking part of the

flower.The bright colors which are usually present on flowers act to attract insects for pollination.

The stamens make up the male reproductive part of the flower.The stamen consists of a

short stalk called a filament and a sac-like structure on top of the filament called an anther.The

anther contains pollen, which is the male sex cell.

The pistil, located in the center of the flower, is the female part of the flower.It produces the

female sex cells, the eggs. These eggs, if fertilized, become seeds. The pistil has three main parts.

These include a sticky stigma on top to catch pollen and a style, a tube which leads to the third part,

the ovary. The egg cells develop in the ovary.After fertilization, the ovary grows to become a fruit

or a seed coat.


Words and Phrases

peduncle = s. peduncul

receptacle = s. receptacul

anther = s. anteră

style = s.(bot.) stil

ovule = s. (bot.) ovul

embryo sac = sac embrionar

pollination = s.polenizare

cross-pollination = s.polenizare încrucişată

calyx pl. calyces = s.caliciu

EXERCISES

SELF – EVALUATION

• Pollination is sexual process in which pollen is deposited on the stigma of the plant.It

starts the process of fertilization and

a) growth of the polen tube

b) seed formation

c) production of a fruit or seed coat

d) all of the above

• The stamen is:

a) the male part of the flower

b) the part of the flower that produces pollen

c) the part of the flower that holds the anther

d) all of the above

16 ☺ PROGRESS TEST


O floare tipică la Angiospermae este alcatuită dintr-un internod numit peduncul, care se

termină cu axul florii sau receptaculul. De la bază spre vârf, în sens centripet, pe receptacul se

întâlnesc sepalele, a căror totalitate formează caliciul; petalele, care alcătuiesc corola; staminele,

care formează împreună androceul şi carpelele.

SEEDS AND FRUITS

The formation of the seed is intimately connected with the development of the embryo, and

as the latter grows within the embryo sac the integuments surrrrounding the ovule keep pace with its

enlargement.When it has ceased increasing in size, the ovule begins to lose water and the outer

integument especially forms a mechanically resistant and impervious layer of cells, the seed coat or

testa. The considerable range of form of the mature seed coat of different plants depends on the

mode of development and differentiation of these cells. The most familiar seeds are those with dry

coats, usually hard and leathery. These hard, resistant coats afford protection from dessication,

mechanical injury etc. The impervious testa also prevents germination from taking place too soon,

so that the essential internal changes which must take place during a seed’s obligatory dormancy

can be completed.

In addition to the changes in the ovule which lead to the formation of the seed, other parts of

the flower, especially the ovary, enter a new phase of development after fertilization. The result is a

structure exclusive to flowering plants, the fruit.After fertilization, the ovary enclosing the ovule

becomes the fruit enclosing the seed.The biological significance of fruits is that they afford greater

protection, and possibly improved nutrition, to the maturing seed, while later they provide some

specialized means of dispersal for the seed. Although the simplest fruits are derived from the ovary

alone, many include in their structure parts derived from the style, the receptacle, parts of the

perianth, the pedicel and peduncle, or even bracts and bracteoles.Thus, a fruit may be defined as a

structure developed from a flower, usually after it has been fertilized. It consists of one or more

mature ovaries, together with any accessory structures derived from other floral parts, and is

concerned with the protection and commonly the later dispersal of the seeds contained within it.


Words and Phrases

integument = s. tegument, înveliş

testa pl.testae = s.(bot.) coaja dură a unei seminţe

dessication = deshidratare

funicle = s. (bot.) funicul

hilum = s. (bot.) hil

aril = s. (bot.) aril

EXERCISES

SELF – EVALUATION

• The pistil is:

a) the female part of the flower

b) the male part of the flower

c) the showy part of the flower

d) the pollen-producing part of the flower

• When fertilized, the eggs in the ovary grow into:

a) fruit

b) seed cases

c) seeds

d) flowers



După procesul de fecundaţie, în flori se produc transformări mari: unele părţi ale

florii se ofilesc şi cad, altele însă se modifică atât cantitativ, cât şi calitativ. Toate aceste modificări

care se petrec în floare, în urma fecundaţiei, constituie procesul de fructificaţie sau de formare a

fructului.În general staminele, petalele şi sepalele se usucă şi cad de pe axul floral, existând şi cazuri

când sepalele râman pe fruct, însoţindu-l ca anexe; alteori caliciul se măreşte şi înveleşte fructul.

THE LIFE CYCLE OF A PLANT

The life cycle of a typical annual plant can be divided into several stages. The first stage is

germination. Seeds remain dormant, or in a resting state, if they are kept cool and dry. When the

amount of moisture and the temperature level are right, the seeds germinate and start growing.

Certain conditions are necessary for this to happen. An essential condition is that the seeds

must be alive. Sometimes seeds are dried at a temperature which is too high. This has two effects:

the water content in the seeds is reduced too much, and certain essential proteins are destroyed. As a

result, the seeds die.

Other conditions for germination concern the amount of moisture in the soil. If dry seeds are

planted in a dry soil, they will not germinate until it rains. On the other hand, if there is too much

water in the soil, the seeds will not germinate either. This is because wet soils remain cold for a

longer period of time than drier, well/drained soils. If the soil is too cold germination will not occur.

An additional reason for seeds not germinating is that badly drained soils may lack sufficient

oxygen. Dormant seeds require very little oxygen in order to stay alive, but when they start to

germinate they require more.

In the first stage of germination the primary root, or radicle, emerges. Then the stem pushes

its way upward until it appears above the surface of the soil. At the same time the root system grows

downward, and begins to spread through the soil. In the early stages of development the seedling

depends entirely on the foodstore in the seed but as soon as the first leaves are produced, it is able to

manufacture food for itself. The seedling begins photosynthesis.

19 Next, the plant enters the stage of rapid growth. In this stage of the life cycle, the plant

begins to grow to its full size. When it is mature enough, it flowers, and when this happens

pollination and fertilization are ready to take place. In the process of pollination the pollen is carried

by wind or insects from the stamens to the stigma of the carpel. It germinates on the stigma and

grows down the style into the ovary, where fertilization takes place.

EXPLANATORY NOTES

Words and Phrases

dormancy = stare latentă

primary root = rădăcină principală

emerge = a ieşi (la iveală), a răsări

seedling = răsad, puiet

foodstore = rezervă de hrană

pollination = polenizare

fertilization = fecundare

stamens = stamină

stigma = stigmat

germination = germinare, încolţire

style = stil

ovary = ovar

photosynthesis = fotosinteză

pollen grains = grăunciori de polen

root hair = perişor absorbant

stigma. pl stigmata

gamete = gamet

male gamete = gamet mascul

ovule = ovul, gemulă

testa pl. testae = coajă tare a unei seminţe

radicle = radiculă

plumule = tijă embrionară

20

EXERCISES

SELF – EVALUATION

• Rewrite the following sentences replacing the words printed in italics with


a) The seed starts growing when there is enough air or water and the temperature is

right.

b) A seed will only germinate when there is enough air in the soil.

c) Seeds which are in a resting state require very little air to remain alive.

d) As soon as the stem and leaves appear above the surface of the soil, they begin to

manufacture food.

e) After the plant has appeared above the surface of the soil it enters the stage of life

when it begins to grow to its full size.

f) The process of carrying the pollen to the stigma is brought about by wind or insects.

• Match the names of the processes in the list on the left to the identifying descriptions of

their course of action in the list on the right.

NAME OF PROCESS DESCRIPTION OF COURSE OF ACTION a) transpiration i) one of the male gametes unites with the female gamete in the ovule

b) germination ii) pollen grains are transferred from the stamen to the

stigma of the female parts

c) pollination iii) water passes through the leaf cells and evaporates into

the air

d) fertilization iv) nutrients in the soil pass through the cell membranes into

the root hairs

e) osmosis v) the seed ‘awakens’ from its dormant state and starts

growing.



Fertilization is the process whereby one of the male gametes from the pollen unites with the

female gamete in the ovule. Firstly, the pollen carrying the male gametes germinates on the stigma.

Then, one of the male gametes goes down the style into the ovary chamber. Finally, it fertilizes the

female gamete in the ovule by uniting with it.

The life cycle of a plant is the period of time during which the plant grows from a seed,

flowers and dies. The first stage of plant growth is the germination of the seed. This forms the

beginnings of the stem and root systems. As soon as the stem appears above the ground food

manufacture, or photosynthesis, begins. After that, the plant enters the period of rapid growth.

During this time the vegetative parts grow to full size. When the plant flowers it is ready for

pollination and fertilization. During this stage, pollen is transferred from the stamens to the stigma

where it germinates. Next, fruit and seeds are produces. This is followed by the decay of the

vegetative parts. Finally, the seeds are dispersed by insects, animals or wind, and the plant dies. Germination is the process whereby the seed ‘awakens’ from its dormant state and begins to

grow. The first stage in the germination of a bean is the splitting of the testa. The radicle emerges

from the testa and starts to grow downwards. Next, the plumule, which is curved to protect the

growing point, begins to grow up towards the light. When the young plant breaks the soil surface,

food manufacture by photosynthesis can begin. Also at this stage below the soil surface secondary

roots develop. Finally, the main shoot grows upwards sprouting leaves; at the same time the root

system spreads through the soil.

Photosynthesis is the process whereby the plant manufactures food for itself. First of all,

carbon dioxide from the air is taken in through the leaf cells. This is combined with water from the

soil in the presence of sunlight. The sunlight provides the energy to bind CO2 and H2O together to

form sugars and other carbohydrates. Subsequently, the carbohydrates go to the growing points in

the plant, enlarging tissues. At the same time oxygen is given off as a gas. We may summarize this

chemical process as follows:

6 CO2 + 6 H2O => C6H12O6 + 6 O2

22

PLANT CLASSIFICATION

The classification of plants undoubtedly goes back to very early man.He depended upon

them for food, shelter, and probably clothing.He fashioned weapons from them for his protection

and to capture animals for food.Possibly he classified them into groups based upon their uses, such

as for food, fiber, weapons, medicineand religion.

The early scholars always wrote in Latin or Greek, so naturally, when they described plants

or animals, they gave them scientific Latin or Latinized Greek names..However, this way of naming

plants also caused problems; the names were often long and difficult.

The famous Swedish botanist, Linnaeus simplified the matter by developing the binominal

(two-name) system for naming plants.He gave all plants just two Latin names as their scientific

names.This system is still used today. The first name is knowm as the generic name; this is the

plant’s group name. All plants having the same generic name are said to belong to the same genus

All plants belonging to the same genus have similar characteristics and are more closely related to

each other than they are to the members of any other genus.The second name is the specific name

or special name. All plants with the same specific name belong to the same species. The Latin

word ” species ” means ” kind ”. It is difficult to define exactly what a species is, but we can say

that plants of the same species have the same characteristics and will consistently produce plants of

the same type. Today, species are often subdivided into varieties. One variety of a species

resembles that of another variety, but there are always one or two differences that are consistent and

inherited.

The generic name is usually a noun and the species name an adjective.The species name,

because it is an adjective, often gives information about the plant. Sometimes, it tells us the colour

of the plant (e.g. Betula alba) or gives geographical information about where a plant occurs

naturally (e.g. Anemone virginiana ).

MODULE 2

23

Related genera (plural of genus) with similar flower structures are grouped together into

major units known as families.

When the Latin names of plants are printed, they are expressed in italics.This is because

when names and phrases are written in a language other than our own, it is conventional to print

them in italics or underline them if they are typewritten or hand written. Also, by convention, the

generic name is always written first and the species name last. The generic name always begins

with a capital letter; the species name with a small letter. Sometimes, when a number of species all

belonging to the same genus is the subject, the generic name is abbreviated and the first letter is

used.

Scientists who identify and classify plants are known as taxonomists. An international set

of rules has been drawn up to ensure that every different species has a different binominal name and

that the scientific name assigned to the plant is the oldest binominal name ever used for that plant.

This international set of rules is known as the INTERNATIONAL CODE OF BOTANICAL

NOMENCLATURE.

The internationally accepted method of naming plants, that is the BINOMINAL SYSTEM

cannot be applied arbitrarily and a precise set of rules must be followed. Thus, every plant must

belong to a variety, every variety to species, every species to a genus, every genus to a tribe or

family, every family to an order, every order to a class, every class to a division (phylum), each

phylum to the plant kingdom.

A complete categorization of common wheat, Triticum aestivum, is as follows: Kingdom-

Planta; Division-Spermatophyta; Class-Monocotyledonae; Order-Graminales; Family-

Gramineae; Genus- Triticum; Species-aestivum.

EXPLANATORY NOTES

Words and Phrases

taxonomy = taxonomie, ştiinţa clasificării

phylum, pl. phyla = încrengătură

order = s. ordin, sistem

genus, pl. genera = s. gen, clasă

24 species, pl. species = s. specie; clasă

variety = s. varietate; soi; specie

cultivar = s. cultivar; soi, hibrid, linie consangvinizată

EXERCISES

SELF – EVALUATION

• Match the terms on the left with their definitions on the right:

1. species a) a term used in classification, signifing a group of related genera

2. genus b) a systematic unit including geographic races and varieties and

included in a genus

3. family c) a group of closely related species

4. order d) family and classes

5. class e) a division of a phylum and divided into orders

6. phylum f) a primary division in classification

7. kingdom g) the primary division in classification

8. variety h) an agricultural variety that is the product of artificial

selection by human being

9. cultivar i) a local variation in a species’ natural population

☺ PROGRESS TEST


Toate plantele cunoscute astăzi în natură sunt mai mult sau mai puţin înrudite între ele şi

derivă din tipuri mai vechi prin transformări neâncetate pe care le-au suferit sub influenţa factorilor

de mediu, dobândind caractere noi, diferite de ale strămoşilor lor.

Botanica sistematică (sistematica vegetală) este ştiinţa care se ocupă cu descierea tuturor

plantelor cunoscute şi clasificarea în grupuri, categorii sau unităţi sistematice de diferite valori

numite taxoni.

25

PLANT GROUPS

Plants can be divided into annuals, biennials and perennials according to their total length of

life.

ANNUALS. Typical examples are wheat, barley and oats which complete their life history

in one growing season, i.e. starting from the seed, in 1 year they develop roots, stems and leaves and

then produce flowers and seed before dying.

BIENNIALS. These plants grow for 2 years. They spend the first year in producing roots,

stems and leaves, and the following year in producing the flowering stem and seeds, after which

they die. Sugar beet, turnips are typical biennials, although the farmer treats these crops as annuals,

harvesting them at the end of the first year when all the foodstuff is stored up in the root.

PERENNIALS. They live more than 2 years, and, once fully developed, they usually

produce seeds each year. Many of the grasses and legumes are perennials.

Plants are also classified as dicotyledons and monocotyledons according to the structure of

the seed.

DICOTYLEDONS. A good example of a dicotyledon seed is the broad bean because it is

large and easy to study. If a pod of the broad bean plant is opened when it is nearly ripe it will be

seen that each seed is attached to the inside of the pod by a short stalk called funicle.All the

nourishment which the developing seed requires passes through the funicle from the bean plant. If a

bean is soaked in water the seed coat can be removed easily and all that is left is largely made up of

the embryo (germ).This consists of two seed leaves, or cotyledons, which contain the food for the

young seedling.Lying between the two cotyledons is the radicle.

MONOCOTYLEDONS. This class includes all the cereals and grasses and it is, therefore,

very important.The wheat grain is a typical example.It is not a true seed (it should be called a single

–seeded fruit). The seed completely fills the whole grain, being practically united with the inside

wall of the grain or fruit.This fruit wall is made up of many different layers which are separated on

milling into varying degrees of fineness, e.g. bran and pollards, and these are valuable livestock

feed. Most of the interior of the grain is taken by the floury endosperm.The embryo occupies the

small raised area at the base. The scutellum, a shield-like structure, separates the embryo from the

endosperm.The scutellum can be regarded as the cotyledon of the seed. There is only one cotyledon

present and so wheat is a monocotyledon.


Words and Phrases

pod = s. (bot.) păstaie;teacă

stalk = s. (bot.) lujer; tulpină

funicle = s. (bot.) funicul

hilum = s. (bot.) hil

micropyle = s. (bot.) micropil

radicle = s. (bot.) radiculă

plumule = s. (bot.) plumulă

EXERCISES

SELF – EVALUATION

• Fiind the terms in the text above which describe the following:

1. it attaches a seed to the inside of a pod.

2. it separates the embryo from the endosperm.

3. a plant that has only one seed leaf.

☺ PROGRESS TEST

Explain the differences between an annual, a biennial and a perennial..

27

THE ORIGIN AND COMPOSITION OF SOIL

To properly grow into profit – making crops, plants require a certain environment. This

environment can be divided into two parts: the underground environment in which thr roots live and

grow, and the above ground environment in which the visible part of the plant exists.

THE UNDERGROUND ENVIRONMENT

Although some plants require a more specialized underground environment, there are certain

factors that affect the growth and development of all plants. The medium ( soil or soil substitute ) in

which plants are grown is a very important factor. Through their roots which anchor them in the

soil, plants take in air moisture, and minerals – all vital to plant life. Many times, plant food is

added to the soil to encourage better growth.

Soil is a residue composed of two main ingredients: mineral material and organic material.

Organic material originates from dead plants and animals and materials other than this are derived

from rocks of various kinds. These rocks are broken down into small particles by mechanical

disintegration and chemical decomposition. This breaking down process, known as weathering, may

thus be both physical and chemical.

When weathering processes are largely physical – by heat or wind, for instance - the

composition of the soil is very similar to that of the parent rock. In arid regions weathering is mostly

by physical means. But in humid regions chemical processes of weathering are equally important.

In such regions rock particles are affected by water which may contain carbonic or other weak

acids. These acids dissolve some of the particles in the rocks. The mineral material that is left

behind is insoluble. Consequently, the insoluble mineral residues in the soils have less resemblance

to the original rocks. There are larger amounts of organic matter in the soil, too.

MODULE 3

28

The process of soil formation results in the development of the soil profile. This is made up

of a succession of horizontal layers, or ‘horizons’, of varying thickness, from the surface to the

parent rock. Generally speaking, there are three distinct horizons, known as A, B and C. A is the

top soil, which is coarse-grained, and dark in colour because of the presence of humus. B is known

as the sub-soil which contains some of the products leached, or washed, out of the horizon. The C

horizon consists of parent material which has been weathered in the upper part, and unweathered

rock below.

Any sample of soil contains particles of different sizes. These have been divided into the

following size groups:

TABLE 1

Material

Diameter (mm)

gravel

coarse sand

fine sand

silt

clay

more than 2.0

2.0 – 0.2

0.2 – 0.02

0.02 – 0.002

less than 0.002

Soils range from pure clays to pure sands. Most of them contain various proportions of sand,

silt and clay and these varying proportions make up a soil’s textural class. The principle classes in

order of increasing fineness of material are sand, loamy sand, loam, silt loam, silty clay loam, clay

loam, silt and clay.

Any soil contains both mineral and organic matter. Clay particles are the most important of

the mineral particles because they are the smallest. Smaller sized particles have a greater exposed

surface area than larger sized particles. The smaller the size of a particle, the greater is its reactivity.

That is to say, smaller sized particles can react or combine with water, nutrients and humus more

easily than larger sized particles. Thus, a clay soil is more reactive than any other type of soil.

29

Humus from decomposed organic matter is vital to a soil as it makes a heavy soil lighter. In

addition, it helps to bind the mineral particles together in ‘crumbs’.

EXPLANATORY NOTES

Words and Phrases

weathering = alterare, ansamblu al schimărilor fizice, chimice şi biologice,

produse în roci sub influenţa agenţilor atmosferici, plantelor şi microorganismelor.

parent rock = rocă mamă

soil profile = profil de sol

layer = strat, stratificaţie

coarse-grained

coarse = aspru, gros, de calitate inferioară, prost

grained = granulat, grăunţos, zgrunţuros

coarseness = asprime, microgranulaţie

leach = 1. a filtra, 2. a trata cu leşie

leaching = levigare, spălare

sand = nisip

silt = nămol, mâl, aluviune

clay = argilă, lut, humă

texture = textură

loam = lut, pământ argilos, pământ rodnic, fertil

crumb = fărămituri, fărâme, fragmente

humus = humus, pământ vegetal

sandy clay = argilă slabă, nisipoasă

clay ground = sol argilos, pământ gleic

gravel = pietriş prundiş

silty clay = argilă prăfoasă

clay loam = lut argilos

silt loam = lut prăfos

30

EXERCISES

SELF – EVALUATION



a) Material other than mineral material is derived from dead plants and animals.

b) Breaking down rocks into small particles is performed mostly by heat or wind in arid and

semi-arid regions.

c) The remains of mineral materials that cannot be dissolved in water have little similarity to

the parent rocks in humid regions.

d) The succession of horizontal layers in a soil are called the top soil, the subsoil and the parent

material.

☺ PROGRESS TEST

Translate into English :

Pentru definirea texturii solului, particulele elementare de sol sunt grupate, în funcţie de

mărimea lor, în mai multe categorii, denumite fracţiuni granulometrice. Principalele fracţiuni

granulometrice sunt cele de nisip, praf şi argilă. În funcţie de textură, solurile se împart în clase sau

specii texturale, care sunt determinate de proporţiile dintre fracţiunile granulometrice din sol, mai

exact de suprafaţa specifică a solului. Clasele texturale sunt denumite după fracţiunea

granulometrică determinantă şi pot fi determinate, pe baza rezultatelor analizei granulometrice, în

funcţie de conţinutul în argilă şi praf al solului.


The soil system is made up of mineral particles which are mixed with decomposed organic

matter. The top soil consists of this mixture, which is so vital for plant growth. Below the top soil is

the sub-soil which is largely composed of mineral matter. In addition to the mineral and organic

matter, called the soil solids, there are spaces between the soil particles which are taken up by water

and air to make up the non-solid part of the soil. The accompanying diagram shows the volume

31 composition of a typical top soil. Amounts are approximate as the percentage of certain constituents

e.g. water and air, is constantly varying.

Soil solids consist mainly of particles of various sizes. All particles between 0.002 mm and

0.02 mm are silt. Particles larger than 0.02 mm are sand particles, coarse sand and fine sand.

Particles smaller than silt are clay particles. Clay is able to absorb a great deal of water owing to the

amount of pore space between the particles. Sand does not have this property. Therefore, a soil

which contains more clay is able to hold more water than a soil with less clay.

The mineral material in all soil is derived from parent material by the process of weathering

which breaks down rocks into smaller particles by mechanical disintegration and chemical

decomposition.

SOIL EROSION AND ITS CONTROL

The basic definition of the word “erosion” is to wear away. Since the earth was first formed,

there has been a continual wearing away of the surface. Many agents are responsible, but the

discussion here will be limited to cultivated fields.

Erosion that takes place under natural conditions (i.e. when the land surface and native

vegetative cover have not been disturbed by human activities) is called natural or geological

erosion. On the other hand, when timberland is cleared or grassland is broken up, processes of

erosion are accelerated, and we have unnatural or soil erosion. Whenever erosion is speeded up as a

result of human activities so that it removes all or part of the topsoil, we call the process soil

erosion. Geological erosion is a relatively slow process under many conditions and soil formation

may keep pace with the removal of the surface soil. Soil erosion, on the contrary, is very rapid when

environmental factors favor erosion.

32

TYPES OF WATER EROSION

Erosion by water may be divided into four categories: splash, sheet, rill, and gully. Strictly

speaking, sheet erosion refers to the quite uniform removal of soil from the surface of an area in

thin layers. For sheet erosion alone to occur it is necessary that there be a smooth soil surface,

which is seldom the case. Usually a soil surface that is designated “smooth” contains small

depressions in which water will accumulate. Overflowing from these at the lowest point, the water

cuts a tiny channel as it moves down the slope. Duplicated at innumerable points, this process

presently creates a surface cut a multitude of very shallow trenches that are called rills. None of

these may grow to appreciable size of depth, so the surface soil is rather uniformly removed from

the field. Accordingly, sheet erosion and rill erosion work hand in hand; the combined process is

usually called sheet erosion, as distinguished from gully formation.

Although sheet erosion may pass unnoticed by the average observer, gullies attract

immediate attention. They disfigure the landscape and give the impression of land neglect and soil

destruction. Not only do gullies result in soil loss but also, as previously mentioned, the eroded

material is usually deposited over more fertile soil at the foot of the slope. Also, fields dissected by

gullies offer many problems in farming operation. Gullying proceeds by three processes: (1)

waterfall erosion, (2) channel erosion, and (3) erosion caused by alternate freezing and thawing.

Usually more than one process is active in a gully.

WIND EROSION

Is indirectly related to water conservation in that a lack of water leaves land barren and

exposed to the wind. Wind erosion reaches its greatest extent in semiarid and arid regions.

Nevertheless, much damage is caused to both crops and soils in humid areas by soil blowing,

although the phenomenon is less spectacular and attracts comparatively little attention in these

regions.

Wind erosion can be controlled (1) if the soil particles can be built up into clusters or

granules of too large a size to move in saltation; (2) if the wind velocity near the soil surface can be

reduced by ridging the land, by vegetable cover, or even by developing a cloddy surface; and (3) by

33 providing strips of stubble or other vegetative cover sufficient to catch and hold the particles

moving in saltation.

EXPLANATORY NOTES

Words and Phrases

erosion = eroziune, distrugere; roadere

timberland = pământ împădurit, pădure

environmental factor = factor de mediu

sheet erosion = eroziune de suprafaţă

rill = rigolă, râuleţ

splash erosion = eroziune prin împroşcare

trench = şanţ, canal

rill erosion = eroziune prin şiroire

dredge = a draga

gully erosion = eroziune în adâncime

strip = fâşie

smooth soil surface = suprafaţă netedă de sol

wind erosion = eroziune eoliană

saltation = saltaţie

vegetable cover = covor vegetal

soil erodibility = erodabilitatea solului

EXERCISES

SELF - EVALUATION


1. rill erosion a – the removal of a fairly uniform layer of soil from the land

surface by runoff water.

34 2. sheet erosion b – an erosion process in which numerous small channels of

only several inches in depth are formed; occurs mainly on

recently cultivated soils.

3. creep erosion c – the spattering of small soil particles caused by the impact of

raindrop on very wet soils.

4. splash erosion d – slow mass movement of soil and soil material down

relatively steep slopes primarily under the influence of

gravity, but facilitated by saturation with water and by

alternate freezing and thawing.

☺ PROGRESS TEST


Combaterea eroziunii solului şi chimizarea agriculturii reclamă, de asemenea, cunoaşterea

amănunţită a proprietăţilor solurilor şi a răspândirii lor. Cercetările de sol oferă datele necesare

stabilirii măsurilor celor mai potrivite pentru combaterea şi prevenirea eroziunii, nevoii de

îngrăşăminte, în funcţie de condiţiile naturale şi de sol, măsurilor privind prevenirea şi combaterea

poluării solului.

SOIL DRAINAGE AND IRRIGATION

DRAINAGE

One meaning of drainage is the natural ability of the soil to allow a downward movement of

water. The ease with which water can pass through a soil depends on the proportions in it of coarse

and fine particles such as sand and clay. The finer the particles become, the more slowly the water

percolates, or passes, through the soil. So heavy soils such as clay are more impermeable than light

soils.

35

When there is too much water in the soil, some of it must be drained off. This is the other

meaning of drainage : the removal of excess water from the soil by ditching or tiling, (subsurface

drainage). This is done in order to maintain a correct balance of air and water in the soil. Good

drainage makes a soil easier to work. It also helps to increase the feeding area of the soil for the

roots of plants. Another advantage is that a well-drained soil will have enough air for aerobic

bacteria to break down humus and so provide food for the plant.

Ditching is one of the most important techniques for draining land. Ditches can be cut at

certain intervals between the crops. These will remove surface water. They should be wide and

straight, with sloping sides, and they should be regularly cleaned. Another important technique is

tile drainage. Porous drainage tiles may be laid in or on the land and these will help to draw off the

surplus water. The distance between the drains will depend on the level of the land, the permeability

of the soil, and the amount of rainfall. For very heavy soils mole drainage can be used. This

technique is used where water accumulates underground. A tunnel is bored about 3 inches in

diameter through the earth at a depth of about 2 feet.

Signs Indicating the Necessity for Drainage :

• Soils have a wet and spongy surface.

• Plants have a withered and sickly appearance and are bleached a yellowish

• colour.

• Land dries out in patches in summer.

• Snow lies long on wet soils.

• Crops are stunted and blighted.

• Freshly turned furrow slices show a glazed appearance.

• Rushes, sedges and other water-loving plants are signes of the need for drainage.

Advantages of Drainage.

• The temperature of the soil is improved.

• The temperature of the plant rises : when there is much water present in the soil plant

food is diluted and therefore the plant requires to take in much water to get the

36

necessary food. This keeps down the natural heat of the plant and heat will be lost in

the process of transpiration, so retarding growth.

• The mechanical and physical condition of the soil is improved.

• Air is admitted and sucked into the soil.

• Drainage allows air to decompose organic matter.

• Drainage provides suitable conditions for useful bacteria.

• It gives larger crops as roots penetrate deeper and are able to obtain a greater

supply of plant food.

• There is less disease and the quality of the crop improves.

• A greater number of seeds germinate because of better air and temperature

conditions.

• A greater variety of crops can be grown.

• Tillage is easier since cultivations can be undertaken earlier and as result the

growing season is lengthened.

• Manures are more effective.

• Good grasses appear in pasture and harmful grasses disappear.

• There are fewer insect pests.

• The health of livestock is improved

EXPLANATORY NOTES

Words and Phrases

soil drainage = drenaj global

water-logged soil = sol saturat de apă

impervious layer = strat impermeabil

water table = nivelul stratului acvifer freatic

humus = humus, pământ vegetal

denitrification = denitrificare

tillage = lucrarea solului

manure = gunoi de grajd; îngrăşământ natural

37 undrained land = pământ nedrenat

tile drainage = drenaj prin drenuri îngropate în sol

mole drain = dren cârtiţă

open drain = dren deschis

surface drainage = desecare (îndepărtarea prin canale deschise a excesului de apă de la

suprafaţa solului)

subsurface drainage = drenaj de subsuprafaţă

EXERCISES

SELF – EVALUATION



a) Water passes through the soil quickly when the ease with which water can pass

through the soil is high.

b) Removing excess water from the soil helps to increase the feeding area of the soil for

the plant roots.

c) Laying porous drainage tiles on the land helps to remove surplus surface water.

d) Water from rivers, lakes or reservoirs may have to be transported along canals a long

distance to the fields, whereas water from underground deposits lifted from a well

may be close to the crops.

e) How much water a crop requires from irrigation depends partly on the shortage of

water in the soil.


Translate into Enlish :

Drenajul, ca proprietate a solului, poate fi considerat, într-o anumită măsură, ca o rezultantă

a proprietăţilor hidrofizice ale solului. Prin drenaj se înţelege posibilitatea îndepărtării excesului de

apă din sol. Se deosebeşte drenajul extern, drenajul intern şi drenajul natural sau global.

IRRIGATION

Where and when water is in short supply, irrigation is needed to make up the deficit. We

should distinguish between the collection of water and its application. There are two main sources

of irrigation water : surface water and ground water. The former may be obtained from rivers, lakes

or reservoirs, and the latter is provided by underground water deposits. Irrigation from rivers is

mainly along canals from dams which have been built across the rivers. The water collects behind

the dam during the wet season. And it is applied in the fields later during the dry season.

Subterranean water is obtained by digging or drilling a well. In either case it is necessary to lift the

water before it can be used for irrigation.

The amount of water which is required for irrigation depends on a number of factors. It

depends, firstly, on the type of soil, and the deficit in the soil. By this we mean the amount of water

which is needed to bring the soil to full capacity. It also depends on the type of crop, the stage of

growth of the crop and the amount which it will use at the particular time. The irrigation

requirement of a crop is not the same throughout its growing period. Most plants require larger

quantities of water during the later stages than in the earlier stages. Choice of the various methods

of applying irrigation water is influenced by : seasonal rainfall, slope and general nature of the soil

surface, supply of water and how it is delivered, crop rotation, and permeability to water of the soil

and subsoil. The methods of distributing water can be classified as surface, subsurface, sprinkler,

and drip or trickle.

Surface irrigation distributes water down rows or into basins and similar areas that are

surrounded by ridges or dikes. Flooding of basins and similar areas is used for pastures, orchards,

and the like. Crops commonly irrigated by furrow irrigation include row crops such as potatoes,

39 sugar beets, corn grain sorghum, cotton, vegetables, and fruit trees. Furrows are made across the

field, leading down the slope.

Subirrigation is irrigation by water movement upward from a free water surface some

distance below the soil surface. In arid regions where almost all of the water used to grow crops is

from irrigation, subirrigation would cause serious salt accumulation problems in the upper part of

the soil. Subirrigation works best where natural rainfall removes any salts may that accumulate.

Sprinkler irrigation. Everyone is familiar with the sprinklers used to water or irrigate

lawns. Sprinkler systems are versatile and have special advantages where high infiltration rates or

topography prevents proper leveling of the land for surface distribution of water. The rate of

application can also be carefully controlled. Sprinkler irrigation modifies the plant environment by

completely wetting the soil and leaves. Reductions in relative humidity and temperature reduce

water stress in plants. The high specific heat of water makes sprinkling an effective means to reduce

frost hazard.

Drip irrigation is the frequent or daily application of water drops to localized areas of the

soil. Only a small amount of the root zone is wetted, but roots in the localized moistened areas

absorb water rapidly. A major advantage of drip irrigation is the large reduction in water used.

EXPLANATORY NOTES

Words and Phrases

irrigation = irigaţie, irigare, udare

furrow irrigation = irigare prin brazde

surface irrigation = irigaţie prin scurgere la suprafaţă

sprinkler irrigation = irigaţie prin aspersiune

subirrigation = irigaţie subterană

basin/ check irrigation = irigaţie prin submersiune

drip irrigation = irigaţie prin picurare

border-strip irrigation = irigaţie prin fâşii

waterlogging = exces de umiditate.

40

EXERCISES

SELF – EVALUATION

• Complete and then translate into Romanian the following text by filling in

the blank spaces. Some of the expressions you will require are given below. A dotted line

…………… requires a phrase to be added, and a straight line ____________ requires a word.

digging or drilling provided lenght

get rid of obtained drained

tube-bored function type of crop

must be

Where and when water is in short supply ___________ is needed in order to make up for

natural rainfall. There are two main sources of ___________ water: surface water and

…………………………. Surface water is ____________ by the flowing waters of rivers or is

___________ from the still water of tanks, ponds or artificial ___________. Subterranean water is

tapped by ……………………… wells. Wells may be shallow wells which have been dug by hand

or ____________ wells which have been __________. In either case water

……………………………… lifted before it can be used for ____________.

For a given type of soil the amount of water which is required varies with the

…………………………. –the plant, its physiological make-up and the ____________ of the

growing season.

Where and when there is too much water in the soil some of it must be _________off. Thus,

__________ and __________ are alike two faces of a coin. While the purpose of irrigation is to

arrange for sufficient____________in the soil for satisfactory ……………………….., the

____________ of drainage is to remove ____________ moisture

from the root-zone. To avoid an excess of moisture, care must be taken to ………………..

any collection of water either above or below ground surface. There are three methods of doing

_____________: by ditching, by laying ……………………..………...and by using

…………………………………….

41

TILLAGE

Tillage is the practice of working the soil with implements in order to get conditions

favourable to the growth of crops. It is the least lasting of soil improvements but is very important

and depends on skill which comes by practice and experience. The main consideration in cultivation

is the nature of the soil, its texture or structure, and whether it requires opening or consolidation.

Tillages are of two classes: (1) preparing the soil for crops; (2) keeping the soil in condition

after the crop has been put in. The object of the first operation is to refine and deepen the soil for

root development; to cause the soil to dry out on the surface and warm it for the germination of the

seed, and to increase the water-holding power of the soil. In the second case, the object of tillage is

to control soil moisture, keep down the weeds and consolidate the soil. Tillages are all operations of

a mechanical nature. The complete objects of tillage are: (a) the production of a suitable tilth or soil

structure; (b) the control of soil moisture, aeration and temperature; (c) the destruction of weeds; (d)

the destruction or control of soil pests; (e) burying or clearing rubbish and the mixing of manures in

the soil.

THE PRODUCTION OF TILTH. Some crops require a very fine seed bed, while others do

best where there are clods. In preparing seedbeds, ploughing is usual, but not always the first

operation. The plough cuts the soil into rectangular slices or furrows so that the rubbish is buried

and the soil surface is exposed in a rough condition to the weather.There may be a long interval

before the next operation, but later on the land is cultivated by grubber, cultivator, harrow,discs, or

rollers to give the desired tilth. Very often many implements have to be used before the desired

result is obtained.

CONTROL OF MOISTURE,AERATION AND TEMPERATURE. Soil temperature and

aeration are closely associated with soil moisture and the conditions of cultivation most suitable for

supply of soil moisture are the cultivations which give most suitable conditions of air and

temperature.

MODULE 4

42

DESTRUCTION OF WEEDS. Annual weeds can be killed by completely burying or by

dragging them out and leaving the roots exposed to dry weather. Most weeds are easily destroyed in

the seedling stage and one object of tillage is to create soil condition which will make weed seeds

germinate so that the seedlings may be destroyed by further cultivation.

THE CONTROL OF SOIL PESTS. Various soil tillages may bring pests to the surface and

expose them to the attack of the birds, and some tillages (e.g. rolling) may crush pests, but generally

speaking, conditions of cultivation which favour the growth of healthy crops are against conditions

which favour insect pests.

BURYING RUBBISH AND MIXING MANURE IN THE SOIL. The plough is normally

used for burying the remains of plants, rubbish and dung, and one of the chief requirements of good

ploughing is that all vegetation should be covered by soil.Cultivators and harrows are often used for

mixing fertilizer with the soil before the crop is sown.Sometimes drills and planting machines place

the fertilizers in bands close to the crop.

EXPLANATORY NOTES

Words and Phrases

implement = s. (agr.) unealtă, obiect, articol; mijloc, instrument

tillage = s. (agr.) lucrarea solului

tilth = s. (agr.) condiţie fizică caracteristica solului bine lucrat

to puddle = vt. a bătători (solul în stare umedă )

seedbed = s. pat germinativ

seedling stage = în stadiu de răsad

clod = s. bulgăre, bucată (de pamânt sau lut)

plough = s. plug

ploughing = s. arătură

furrow = s. (agr.) brazdă; cută; făgaş; urmă de roată

grubber = s. (agr.) plug de desţelenit; săpăligă pentru scosul rădăcinilor

cultivator = s. cultivator

harrow = s. grapă

disc plough = plug cu discuri

chisel plough = cultivator pentru pregătirea solului

43 seeding plough = plug semănătoare

seeding machine = semănătoare

to drag = v. a trage cu putere; a scoate trăgând

EXERCISES

SELF – EVALUATION

• Choose the proper term

1. A roller is used to break up the (clods,ridges).and compact the seedbed.

2. A (seedling,legume) is a crop sometimes used as green manure.

3. A ( roller,harrow) is an implement used to compact soil.

4. A (ridge,furrow) is a small ditch brtween two (furrows,ridges)


a. saltatation 1. breaking into tiny particles

b.fallowing 2. making small hollows to catch water

c. strip farming 3.the blowing of soil particles

d. pulverizing 4. a pile of material made by the wind

e. erode 5. leaving unplanted,but cultivated

f. precipitation 6. saving or protecting something

g. drought 7. rain or snow

h. basin listing 8. wear away

i. conservation 9. lack of moisture

j. drift 10. planting different crops in strips side by side

44

☺ PROGRESS TEST


Lucrările care se aplică solului pot fi clasificate după mai multe criterii: a)uneltele cu care se

execută; b) după adâncimea de executare a lucrării; c) după epoca de executare.Aratul este lucrarea

principală de pregătire a solului care se aplică înainte de semănatul oricarei plante şi care se

execută cu plugul.Prin arătură, volumul solului se măreşte cu 20-30%.

FARM MACHINERY

Tillage equipment can be divided into two general classes, namely (1) primary tillage

equipment and (2) secondary tillage equipment. In the first group are included various kinds and

types of ploughs such as: trailed or mounted ploughs, reversible ploughs, moldbroad, disc and chisel

ploughs. Secondary tillage equipment includes harrows (seed harrow, drag harrow, spring tooth

harrow, chain harrow, disc harrow) packers, cultivators (rotary cultivators), rollers (ridged rollers,

smooth rollers) , rotary hoes, and special tools for surface tillage to conserve moisture and destroy

weeds.

Planting equipment is considered to be any power-operated device used to place seed or

plant parts in or on the soil for propagation and production of foos, fiber and feed crops. It includes

row-crop planters and broadcast and drill planters. Row-crop planters may be trailing, front tractor-

mounted and rear-tractor mounted. Equipment for placing growing plants or plant parts in the soil is

called a transplanter. Cultivators are used to stir the surface of the soil at a shallow depth. The gangs

of the cultivator can be equipped with various sweeps and shovels.

Sprayers and dusters are used in controlling insect pest and plant diseases.There are

hydraulic, hydro-pneumatic and air-plane sprayers.

Fertilizing equipment includes manure spreaders, granular fertilizer distributors and

equipment for applying liquid fertilizers. Harvesting equipment includes grain,corn, cotton, root,

hay and forage machines.Grain harvesting is usually performed by the combined harvester-thresher

or combine. There are two types of combines, the pull or tractor-drown combine and self-propelled

combine.

45

The main corn harvesting machine is the corn-picker. When this machine removes the husks

it is called a picker-husker. Some pickers shell the corn in the field. They are called picker-sheller.

Trailing-corn combine is also used in harvesting corn. Root harvesting equipment comprises potato

harvesters, sugar beet harvesters and others.

Hay harvesting equipment consists of machines necessary in making hay , while forage

harvesting equipment consists of machines required for placing green suculent material into silos.

The principal machine required in making hay are mowers, rakes, presses, crushers and windrowers.

Field forage harvesters can be divided into two general types: field chopper-harvesters and

field-flail forage harvesters.

Finally, crop-processing equipment used to process harvested crops includes stalk-cutter-

shredders, shellers, feed grinders, crop dryers and feed mixers.

One of the greatest problems of farm-equipment is the transmission of power. There are

several methods of transmitting power: direct drive, belts, sprocket wheels and chain, gears, shafts

and universal joints, flexible shafting and power take-off shafts.

The principal component parts of machines are: cam, valve, push rod, bearings, keys, bolts,

screws, washers and springs.

EXPLANATORY NOTES

Words and Phrases

primary tillage equipment = maşini pentru prelucrarea solului la adâncime

secondary tillage equipment = maşini pentru prelucrarea solului la suprafaţă

planting equipment = maşini de semănat

transplanter = maşină de plantat

sprayer = maşină de stropit

duster = maşină de prăfuit

fertilizing equipment = maşină pentru aplicarea îngrăşămintelor

manure spreader = maşină de împrăştiat îngrăşăminte naturale.

granular-fertilizer distributor = maşină pentru aplicarea îngrăşămintelor lichide

harvester = seceratoare

46 harvesting equipment = maşină de recoltat

trailed plough = plug tractat

trailing corn combine = combină pentru recoltat porumb

broadcast planter = semănătoare de semănat prin împrăştiere

picker-husker = culegător de ştiuleţi

picker-sheller = culegător de ştiuleţi cu batoza

hay harvesting equipment = maşină de recoltat fân

root harvesting equipment = maşină pentru recoltat rădăcinoase

mower = cositoare

rake = greblă

crusher = maşină de strivit

field forage harvester = combină pentru recoltat furaje

windrower = brăzdar

drill planter = semănătoare pentru cereale păioase

drier = uscator

drill = semănătoare în rânduri

tractor-drawn combine = combină tractată

feed grinder = maşină pentru măcinat furaje

feed mixer = amestecător de furaje

field-flail forage harvester = combină pentru recoltat furaje cu rotor

field chopper harvester = maşină pentru recoltat şi tocat furaje

EXERCISES

SELF – EVALUATION

• Fill in the blanks with the proper terms from the list

clover seed bed

cover crops stubble

disk tractor

fitting weeds

mat

47 1) On a modern farm, implements are drawn by a

2) An implement used to break up sod is a

3) The process of breaking up sod is called the soil.

4) Sod may be produced by a growth of grass or

5) The roots and the soil that clings to them are called the

6) The soil which is prepared for planting is called the

7) In addition to preparing the soil for planting,tillage turns under the which

was left standing when an earlier crop was cut.

8) It also turns under which have been planted to reduce erosion and leaching.

9) And it slows up the growth of undesired plants, or

☺ PROGRESS TEST

A tutor is giving some students instructions about safety. Read carefully what he says

and write down the main ideas of his advice.

I want to say one or two things before we go out to the farm next week. As you know, we

are spending a week there so that you can get to know how to drive and use equipment such as

tractors, combine harvesters, and so on. Some of what I want to say may sound obvious, but we

have had some quite bad accidents in the past, and I don’t want any more. Accidents on the farm are

usually caused by carelessness and stupidity, and that’s quite unnecessary. So first, do exactly what

the demonstrator says.If he says” stand back”, stand back.And stand exactly where he tells you.

Don’t go round to a side of the machine where he can’t see you.And don’t touch any part of the

machine untill he tells you to.That will be when the machine is off. One student lost his hand five

years ago, just because he was on the wrong side of a combine and put his hand in.

Next, do wear proper clothing. When you come to use the combine, you’ll find glasses of

some kind useful to keep the dust out. Although it’s not absolutely necessary, you may also find

gloves useful.When you first use some of these machines, you’ll find they’re hard on the hands.

And don’t bring only a smart suit.You’ll be asked to clean parts of the machines, and carry out other

kinds of maintenance work. You can’t do that in a suit. So bring suitable clothes. Don’t wear

48 clothes that blow around in the wind, though: they can get caught in the machinery and pull you into

it.

Now, one last thing. When you’re actually driving things like tractors, don’t get too excited.

Drive slowly to start with. A tractor is not a racing car. Remember, it is easy to turn a tractor over,

especially on a hill. And if your tractor does not have a safety cab, you can get trapped underneath it

as it falls. So, drive slowly and safely.

MANURES AND FERTILIZERS

Plant growth cannot continue if there is not a supply of minerals in a soil. The materials

which are available for this purpose can be divided into two groups: the bulky, organic materials

which are called manure, and the more concentrated, inorganic chemical substances which are

called fertilizers. Farmyard manure, or dung, consists of a mixture of litter, solid excreta and urine.

It contains three most important substances for plant materials – nitrogen, phosphate and potash.

Manure is added to the soil for several reasons.It improves the physical condition of the soil. It also

keeps up the level of humus in the soil, and maintains the best conditions for the activities of soil

organisms. Finally, it makes up for the plant nutrients which have been removed by crops or lost by

leaching and soil erosion.

Another kind of manure is green manure. This includes leguminous crops which grow

quickly such as clover and lucerne. Such crops supply additional nitrogen as well as organic matter.

A leguminous crop which is ploughed under will add as much nitrogen to the soil per acre as 3 to 10

tons of farmyard manure.

Fertilizers are usually classified according to the particular food element which forms their

main constituent. So, they may be grouped as nitrogenous fertilizers, phosphatic fertilizers, potassic

fertilizers and so on.

MODULE 5

49 The most commonly used fertilizer which contains nitrogen is ammonium sulphate, which is

made from ammonia and sulphuric acid, and which contains 21 % nitrogen. This element

encourages rapid vegetative growth and gives plants a healthy green colour. Another valuable

nitrogenous fertilizer is urea, which is made from ammonia and carbon dioxide, and contains 46 %

nitrogen.

The most widely used phosphatic fertilizer, superphosphate, is made by treating mineral

phosphate with sulphuric acid. Phosphorous stimulates the formation of a plant’s roots, and

promotes fruit and seed production.

Finally, wherever high crop yields are expected, potash is used together with nitrogen and

phosphorous. Potassium makes the plant tissues stronger. This helps the plant to withstand

mechanical damage such as broken branches, and torn leaves. In this way the entry

of disease bearing agents, or pathogens, such as bacteria and fungi, is prevented. Potassium is

important for all plants but particularly so for those that produce oil and starch or sugars.

All plants are affected by the degree of acidity or alkalinity of the soil. The less the nutrient

supply, the more acid the soil becomes. Because mineral salts are basic, an acid soil has a low base

content. Acidity makes some elements unavailable to plants. If a soil is very acid, with a pH value

of less than 5-0, lime can be added to correct this acidity. The main constituent of lime is calcium,

an important plant food. The presence of lime helps to make essential elements of plant food more

easily available to plants. Nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium are more easily available in a well-

limed soil than in an acid soil.

EXPLANATORY NOTES

Words and Phrases

manure = îngrăşământ natural, gunoi, bălegar

to manure = a îngrăşa pământul

green manure = îngrăşământ verde, îngrăşământ sideral

farmyard manure = gunoi de grajd, bălegar

dung = balegă, bălegar

litter = aşternut de paie folosit în grajduri

excreta pl. (fiziol.) = excreţii

50 leguminous crop = leguminoase

to plough = a ara, a săpa (brazdă)

EXERCISES

SELF – EVALUATION

• Rewrite the following using other words and construction from the text where possible.

a) A mixture of litter, solid excreta and urine improves the physical conditions of the soil and

makes up for lost plant nutrients.

b) The most commonly used fertilizer which contains nitrogen is made by combining ammonia

with sulphuric acid.

c) When applied to the soil, the product which results from treating mineral phosphate with

sulphuric acid promotes the production of fruit and seeds.

d) Broken branches and torn leaves allow pathogens such as bacteria and fungi to enter the plant

and destroy it.

e) Essential elements of plant food are not readily available in a soil with a pH value of less than

5-0.

• Combine each pair of sentences into a single sentence. Change the second sentence into

a relative clause and insert it into the first sentence at the point indicated by the dots.

a) A leguminous crop ……………… will add as much nitrogen to the soil per acre as 3 to 10 tons

of farmyard manure. A leguminous crop is ploughed under.

b) Solid excreta, or faeces, is the material ……………….. The material has passed through the

animal without being digested.

c) Ammonium sulphate ……………… is the most commonly used nitrogenous fertilizer.

Ammonium sulphate supplies the soil with nitrogen and sulphur.

d) When crude salt is purified it is called muriate of potash ………………… Muriate of potash

contains 50-60 % K2O

e) Another fertilizer ………………… is urea. This fertilizer contains nitrogen.

51 f) A soil ……………….. will contain quite a high proportion of calcium. Such a soil has a pH

value of 6-5 or more.

g) The roots of leguminous crops such as clover bear nodules ………………… The nodules

contain bacteria ………...…….. These bacteria accumulate nitrogen from the air.

h) A compost is a mixture of partly broken down material ……………….. This material is usually

made up of leaves or grass cuttings.

i) Fungi ………………. can be controlled by means of chemical substances ………………

Fungi attack the aerial parts of the crop, the leaves, stems etc. These chemical substances are

known as fungicides.

j) In addition to the method of disease control ……………….. there are other methods of control

………………… Disease control attacks the disease organism. These other methods are

particularly important in crop production.

• Complete the following text by filling in the blank spaces. Some of the expressions you

will require are given below. A dotted line .……………. requires a phrase to be added and a

straight line ____________ requires a word.

therefore constituent deficient in

essential elements plant food plant nutrition

soil fertility calcium pectate stunted growth

nitrogen promotes nutrients

ammonium sulphate potassium acid

Fertilizers are of crucial importance in maintaining and improving …………………. by

ensuring an adequate supply of plant ______________ for satisfactory plant ______________. For

example, nitrogen promotes rapid _____________ and gives plants a healthy green colour. If a soil

is deficient in _____________ plants will be stunted in _____________ and the leaves yellowish in

colour. However, this _____________ can be corrected by adding to the soil a

………………………… such as urea. To take another example: phosphorous stimulates early

growth and root formation, and ___________ fruit and seed production. If there is a ____________

of ____________ in the soil, plants will be stunted in growth with bluish green leaves and poor

……………………...…… development.

52

To remedy this situation a ……………………….. such as superphosphate should be

applied. The most commonly used nitrogenous fertilizer is ammonium sulphate which

supplies the soil with both ___________ and ____________. There are other fertilizers which

contain nitrogen including urea, which is made from ammonia and carbon dioxide. _____________

contains about 46 % ____________, more than double the amount in ………………………. It is,

____________, a valuable fertilizer to use in soils which are ………………………….. nitrogen, as

in the tropics, for example.

One result of nutrient deficiency is an increase in soil acidity. The effect of ____________ is

to make certain elements unavailable to plants. To correct this, lime should be ____________. The

main _____________ of lime is calcium, itself an essential ……………………………. which

combines with pectin in plants to form ……………………………. , an essential element of cell

walls. But the main effect of lime is to make ………………………….. of plant food available to

plants. Thus, _____________, phosphorous and _____________ are more easily available in a well-

limed soil than in an _____________ soil.

☺ PROGRESS TEST


Compound fertilizers are multiple nutrient materials supplying two or three plant nutrients

simultaneously. Mixed fertilizers containing all the three principal nutrients (N, P and K) usually

meet nutrient deficiencies in a more balanced manner and require less labour to apply them than

straight fertilizers used separately. A soil with / having a pH value lower than 5 would contain quite

a high proportion of calcium. However, a soil with / having a pH value of 6-5 or more would be

considered strongly acid. High acidity means low calcium, magnesium, and potassium, all

important plant foods. A compost is a mixture of partly broken down material made up of leaves or

grass cuttings. Fungi, which attack the aerial parts of the crop, the leaves, stems etc., can be

controlled by means of chemical substances known as fungicides. The quantity of fertilizer or

manure required for rice cultivation depends on the fertility of the soil and the nutrients released

from the rotted weeds and stubble ploughed in during cultivation.

53

THE CONTROL OF WEEDS AND PLANT DISEASES

In crop production the control of weeds, diseases and pests is essential to obtain high yields.

All three may be controlled by sound farm practices. These include the choice of clean seed and the

growing of varieties of crop which can resist disease. They also include careful cultivation, both

presowing and post-sowing, and the use of chemicals.

Weeds reduce crop yields on account of the fact that they compete with crops for water, soil

nutrients and light. They also make harvesting difficult. Most weeds are aggressive and invasive,

they grow quickly and spread far, and so are difficult to get rid of. One recommended way of

eradicating many persistent weeds is first to plough up the roots and underground parts of the plant.

Then the soil may be cultivated lightly, on one or more occasions after the first ploughing.

The principal reason for cultivating the soil is to kill weeds. Weeds may also be killed by

means of chemicals which have the collective name of herbicides. Weed-killers are of two basic

types: selective and non-selective. The former remove certain weeds from certain crops. Non-

selective weed killers may be used for removing all vegetation e.g. as brush killers. They must be

used extremely carefully for the simple reason that they will eradicate all plants on contact – which

includes the crop itself. They are usually used before sowing or before the emergence of the crop

itself.

Plant diseases are caused by organisms which use the crop plant as a ‘host’. These are

mainly micro-organisms e.g. fungi, bacteria and viruses. These parasitic micro-organisms live off

the food nutrients in the tissue cells of the plants. They frequently kill the host tissues, and either the

whole plant or a part of it is damaged and killed. Micro-organisms are reproduced and spread by

minute bodies such as spores, fungi and bacteria. Wind, water, diseased plants, cuttings and tubers,

animals, men and insects are some of the means whereby disease is disseminated.

It is very difficult to kill the fungi and bacteria, or to make the virus which is inside the host

plant inactive. But the evolution of plant varieties which can resist disease has completely changed

methods of disease control. A number of varieties have been evolved and are now available to

farmers. So the control of plant diseases has increasingly become a matter of prevention.

Fungi, which attack the aerial parts of the crop, can be controlled by means of fungicides.

There are sprayed or dusted on to the plant surfaces. They should be applied before the plant is

seriously damaged. Sometimes spray and dust is applied whether disease is present or not. In any

case, it is necessary to examine crops frequently for signs of disease.

54

Soil-borne diseases are much more difficult to control. There are various ways of treating

the soil. One way is to use chemicals that easily change into a gas or vapour, which

enter the soil and kill the harmful organisms. The soil is covered with a polythene sheet and the

volatile chemical is injected into the soil. After about 24 hours the sheet is removed and the soil is

allowed to air for a few days before use.

EXPLANATORY NOTES

Words and Phrases

sowing = semănat, însămânţare

pre-sowing = premergător semănatului, înainte de semănat

post-sowing = după semănat

emergence = răsărire, înmugurire

bacterium, pl. bacteria = bacterie

cutting = 1. butaş; 2. rămăşiţe, deşeuri, surcele; 3. uscături, vreascuri

fungus, pl. fungi = ciupercă, burete, mucegai

to evolve = a (se) dezvolta

to spray = a pulveriza, a dispersa, a împrăştia, a stropi fin

to dust = 1. a pulveriza; 2. a acoperi cu praf

EXERCISES

SELF - EVALUATION

• Rewrite th following using other words and constructions from the text where possible.

a) Weeds which grow quickly and spread far are difficult to get rid of.

b) A way which is frequently advised to eradicate weeds which last a long time is to plough first

and then cultivate lightly.

55 c) Chemicals which remove certain weeds from certain crops are used in rice cultivation, when

they are sprayed over he whole crop at low concentrations.

d) Organisms which are micoscopic in size and use the crop plant as a ‘host’ are frequently the

cause of a whole crop being killed.

e) Plant diseases are spread in a variety of ways – by wind, water, animals, men and insects, for

instance.

f) In order to control soil-borne diseases a chemical that easily change into a gas or vapour can be

injected into the soil under a polythene sheet.

• Write down and complete the sentences by filling in the blanks with a past participle

modifier or a present participle modifier. Form each modifier from one of the verbs in the list.

fix spray lime operate recommend

drive cultivate dust bear

draw compose

Example: Leguminous plants have nitrogen fixing bacteria growing on their roots, which

extract nitrogen from the soil air, use what they need themselves, and pass on the

rest to the host plant.

a) For carrying out heavy jobs which need a lot of power, such as ploughing or land

reclamation, tractor ……………….. implements are superior in every way to manually

………………. or bullock ……………….. implements.

b) Nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium are more easily available to plants in a well-………

soil than in a soil which has a low pH value and is therefore acid.

c) Due to the fact that grasslands have diminished in many countries in recent years

………………… fodder crops have become increasingly important, particularly for dairy

cattle.

d) In the case of soil-……………. diseases where the fungus living in the soil attacks the seeds

or seedlings, soil disinfectants or sterilizers such as formaldehyde or formasan are helpful in

destroying the fungus.

e) One of the ………………. methods of eradicating the paddy stem borer is dipping the

seedlings in 0-1 % DDT suspension before transplanting.

56

f) As most vegetable crops are usually affected by a variety of fungus and virus diseases and a

number of insect pests, it is better for the farmer to equip himself with the necessary

……………… and ……………….. machines.

g) ……………….. manure, or compost, can be made from different sorts of waste material

including padi-straw, grass clippings, sugar-cane refuse, etc.

☺ PROGRESS TEST


Plant disease may be defined as a condition in which the plant as a whole, or many part of it,

does not perform its normal function. It may be brought about by a number of organisms which are

all microscopic in size such as fungi, bacteria, viruses etc., or by physiological causes. These micro-

organisms obtain their food in two ways: by breaking down dead plants or animal remains

(saprophytes) or by attacking living plants and animals (parasites).

Fungi are micro-organisms producing thread-like growths known as hyphae. Fungi can be

controlled by means of chemical substances known as fungicides. There are many kinds of

fungicide but they are all used by spraying or dusting them on to the plant surfaces.

Bacteria are microscopic cellular organisms. They occur, like fungi, both in the air and in the

soil. Such preparations have proved very effective for the control of seed-borne and some soil-borne

diseases.

Virus diseases are usually spread by direct contact, through diseased cuttings and grafts and

by insects. Virus diseases cannot be prevented or cured by chemicals. Thus, the use of disease-free

seed is essential to reduce infection. To prevent the disease seeds should be planted early and close.

Clean seed should be used and infected plants uprooted and burnt.

It is very difficult to kill fungi and bacteria and to inactivate virus once it is inside the host

plant. Hence, the control of plant disease increasingly lies in preventing infection. The development

of disease resistant varieties has, however, revolutionized methods of disease control. Nowadays,

varieties of most of the economic crops which are resistant to certain important diseases are

available to farmers.

57

THE ABOVEGROUND ENVIRONMENT

Just as the entire plant is influenced by the underground environment of the plant roots, the

entire plant is also affected by the environment surrounding the top of the plant. The aboveground

environment may be explained in terms of the factors affecting plants. These include: (1)

temperature, (2) light, (3) humidity, (4) plant diseases, (5) insects, and (6) gases or particles in the

air.

Temperature

The temperature of the air has one of the strongest effects on plant growth. Some plants,

such as lettuce, cabbage grow best in cool temperatures. Others, such as corn, beans, and tomatoes,

prefer hot weather. There are temperatures above which all plant growth stops. At the other

extreme, temperatures near and below freezing also stop plant growth and, in fact, kill tender crops.

Generally the plant growth rate increases as temperature increases up to about 90 0 F. This varies,

but is a good general rule, providing that moisture is available to the plant and wilting does not

occur.

Light

Light must be present before plants can manufacture food. No green plant can exist for very

long without light, whether that source is sunlight or light from an artificial source. Plants vary in

the amount of light they require for best growth. Some plants prefer full sunlight; others prefer

varying degrees of shade.

Light affects plants in other ways. Some plants, such as chrysanthemum, bloom only when

the days begin to shorten. (Long nights are necessary for flower buds to form). This response to

different periods of day and night is called photoperiodism.

Flowering is one way in which plants react to varying periods of light and dark. Plants may be

classified in three groups according to this flowering reaction. Short day plants, such as

chrysanthemum, flower when days are short and nights are long. Long day plants, such as lettuce,

MODULE 6

58 flower when days are long and nights are short. Indifferent plants are plants that do not depend

upon certain periods of light or darkness to flower.

Plants grow toward their source of light because the plant stem produces more greowth

hormones on the shady side, causing the stem on that side to grow to a greater length.

Humidity

Most plants are not affected drastically by a minor change in humidity, the moisture level of

air. Most plants grow best in the 40 to 80 percent relative humidity range. Relative humidity is the

amount of moisture in the air as compared to the percentage of moisture that the air could hold at

the same temperature if it were completely satureted

Some plants are more sensitive to humidity than others. Provided that the roots are able to

replenish moisture lost through plant leaves as fast as it is lost and that the plants do not wilt, low

humidity is not a great problem for most crops.When the humidity is very high (8o to 100 percent

relative humidity), other problems may arise. For example, high humidity may cause the spread of

fungus diseases.

Plant diseases and insects

Any time a plant is suffering from disease or insect damage, production is reduced. The

amount of reduction depends on how severe the damage is and what percentage or part of the plant

is able for producing food, the more leaves that are lost, the more severely total production is

reduced. Some diseases and insect damage may be prevented by the use of varieties of plants that

are resistant to disease and/or insects, or by crop rotation or chemical sprays.

Gases and air particles

Carbon dioxide is vital to plants for the production of food. There is rarely a severe enough

shortage of carbon dioxide to cause damage to plants. However, greenhouse operators find that by

adding carbon dioxide to the air, the growth rate of certain crops may be increased enough to more

than pay for the added cost of the carbon dioxide. Other growth-restricting factors such as lack of

water are usually more important to outside crops and therefore given more consideration.

EXPLANATORY NOTES

Words and Phrases

crop rotation = s. ( agr. ) asolament

to wilt = vt. a se veşteji, a se ofili

59

EXERCISES

SELF - EVALUATION

• As the outside temperature increases, plant growth normally

b) increases if moisture is available

c) decreases because plants become too hot

d) decreases because the plant cannot receive moisture fast enough

e) increases because humidity always increases with the temperature

• Green plants cannot live without light because

a) it is necessary for the manufacture of food

b) they need light to breath

c) light helps to warm them to the optimum temperature for growth

d) none of the above

☺ PROGRESS TEST


Global warming is an environmental problem affected by and felt by all countries. Much

of the increased buildup of carbon dioxide and other gases is the result of fossil-fuel combustion in

developed countries, but burning of forests is also a major cause. As carbon dioxide and other gases

accumulate in the atmosphere, they may trap heat, creating the so-called greenhouse effect. If

world temperature rise, average sea level may rise, thus threatening coastal lands.Violent storms,

monsoons, droughts, floods,and generally increased weather variability are likely.While a warmer

world is not necessarily less favorable to agriculture, regional impacts are harder to predict. And

global warming could be very hard on certain animal species because their ecosystem may shift

while the property-lime boundaries of their preserves do not.

60

ECOLOGY AND AGRICULTURE

The terms used in a discussion of agriculture become more complex as we begin to realize

the many relations that are involved in a field of production that is absolutely necessary to everyone.

Sound environmental management is essential for sustained agricultural development.Yet

environmental degradation is evident throughout the developing world. Soil erosion, siltatation of

rivers and reservoirs, flooding, overgrazing, poor cropping practices, desertification, salinity and

waterlogging, deforestation, energy depletion, loss of biodiversity, and chemical pollution have

become major problems.

Soil erosion is slowly undermining agricultural productivity in many parts of the world. The

extent of the world erosion problem is very difficult to assess because few nations have

systematically surveyed the condition of their soil resources.Nevertheless, the amount of agricultural

land now being retired due to soil erosion is estimated to be at least 20 million hectares per year.The

effects on productivity are potentially serious.Eroded soils typically are at least twice as rich in

nutrients and organic matter as the soil left behind.Soil nutrient losses can be partially replaced by

increased use of chemical fertilizers, but only up to a point, and fertilizer can be expensive. At any

rate, the yields with fertilizers are lower than they would be in the absence of erosion, so that erosion

reduces productivity below its potential.

Desertification involves the depletion of vegetative cover, exposure of the soil surface to

wind and water erosion, and reduction of the soil organic matter, soil structure, and water-holding

capacity.Intensive grazing, particularly during drought years, reduces vegetative cover; the loss of

vegetation reduces organic matter in the soil and thus changes soil structure.Moderate desertification

may cause a 25 percent loss of productivity while severe desertification can reduce productivity by

5o percent or more.

Deforestation creates environmental problems on land and in the air.Forest play a vital role

providing food, fuel, medicine, fodder for livestock, and building material.They provide a home for

innumerable and diverse plant and animal species.They protect the soil, recycle moisture, and reduce

carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.But forests are being cleared at an alarming rate throughout the

world.Every year more than 11 million hectares are cleared, and the rate of cutting is increasing.

Chemical pollution.The use of chemical pesticides and fertilizers has contaminated the land

and water in many countries, damaging the health of producers and consumers, stimulating the

emergence of pests resistant to pesticides, destroying the natural enemies of pests,and reducing fish

61

populations or rendering them unsafe for human consumption.Acute pesticide poisonings are

common, and little is known about potential long-term health effects.

EXERCISES

☺ PROGRESS TEST

Answer the following questions:

1.Why are people so interested in environmental protection?

2.How does people’s health and life depend on the environment?

3.Who needs protection nowadays?

ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS AND POLICIES

Environmental degradation can result from physical, economic, and institutional factors.

Many environmental problems are interrelated; for example, deforestation, erosion and siltation of

rivers and reservoirs are all linked. Natural resource degradation usually has both direct and

indirect causes. For example, desertification can directly result from overgrazing and poor cropping

practices, but indirectly result from poverty and population growth.Understanding the true causes of

environmental degradation requires a searching for and analysis of complex direct and indirect

physical, economic,and institutional linkages.

Physical causes of natural resource degradation. Physical or technical causes of natural

resource degradation are often the most visible and direct, even though a series of complex linkages

may be involved.Land clearing for timber, fuelwood, cattle ranching, or farming causes

deforestation.Deforestation results in loss of biodiversity and soil erosion.If the area is semi-arid,

loss of forests can contribute to desertification. Desertification can also result from overgrazing,

which itself is caused by too many cattle eating grass in an area subjected to dry spells or

droughts.Many other examples of physical causes of natural resource degradation can be cited.

62

It is important to identify physical causes of environmental problems, but it is even more

important to identify the underlying economic and institutional causes including social, cultural, and

policy-related causes.

Economic causes of natural resource degradation. Poverty and environmental degradation

go hand in hand.Poverty drives people to farm marginal lands intensively, to seek fuelwood

relentlessly, and to follow other agricultural practices that produce food at the potential sacrifice of

future production. Poverty reinforces population growth, which is a major cause of deforestation,

overgrazing, and farming on steep slopes,drylands,and flood plains.

Institutional causes of natural resource degradation. A major cause of environmental

degradation is institutional failure, both private and public.Institutions are rules of behavior that

affect private incentives. Existing social structures and local customs may not be adequate to

preserve the environment as population growth and economic development proceed.

Poverty, high rates of return to capital, debt problems, rapid population growth, and

misguided public policies conspire against solutions. Environmental problems are interrelated,and

understanding their causes requires sorting out complex physical,economic,and institutional

linkages. Technical solutions are needed for each of these problems, but economic and institutional

changrs must provide the incentives for behavioral change. As incomes grow, populatio pressures

are reduced, and the demand for environmental protection increases. Economic development means

more resources in the long run for addressing environmental problems.Changes in taxes,subsidies,

regulations, and other policies can influence local incentives for conservation. Balancing benefits

with costs, obtaining local input in the decision making process, and compensating losers are

needed for effective solutions to local and global environmental problems. Because transactions

costs must be reduced for natural resource conservation to occur, information flows must be

improved and human capital must be developed. Education also becomes vitally important. Thus ,

focusing on communications infrastructure and human-capital development are two of the keys to

environmental improvement.

EXPLANATORY NOTES

policy = (1) a plan of action; (2) a statement of aims;(3) a document which contains a

contract of insurance

to evolve = to develop gradually and naturally

63 incentive = incitement (to action,to do ) provocation, motive, payment or concession to

stimulate greater output by workers

output = (1) what is made, production; (2) information from a computer

infrastructure = all the systems which support a country’s industry and economy, e.g. road,rail,

post and airway systems, factory, hospital,housing and education systems; radio,

television and telephone systems; water,gas and electric systems

sustainable development = development that meets the needs of the present without compromising

the ability of the future generations to meet their own needs.

EXERCISES

☺ PROGRESS TEST

• Are the poorest countries the most vulnerable to environmental degradation? Why, or

why not?


The only way to understand our new role as a co-arhitect of nature is to see ourselves as part

of a complex system that does not operate according to the same simple rules of cause and effect we

are used to. The problem is not our effect on the environment so much as our relationship with the

environment. As a result, any solution to the problem will require a careful assessment of that

relationship as well as the complex interrelationship among factors within civilization and between

them and the major natural components of the earth’s ecological system.

(Adapted from”Earth in the Balance: Ecology and the Human Spirit” by Al Gore 1992,

page 34)

64

EMPLOYMENT CORRESPONDENCE

The ability to compose business correspondence, although a rare marketable skill, is not an

unattainable one. It is not a skill one is born with.

People learn how to write, just as they learn how to read, to type or to operate computers.

But, just like learning to type, learning to write takes work and practice. One gets better at it the

more one writes.

Of all the different kinds of letters, perhaps none are more important for your personal career

than those letters you write to apply for a job. Your curriculum vitae (or resume in American

English), and accompaning letter of application, if well planned and written, can do much to help

you secure the job of your choice.

CURRICULUM VITAE

The curriculum vitae also called resume or data sheet is an outline of all you have to offer a

prospective employer.

It is a presentation of your qualifications, your background, and your experiences, arranged

in such a way as to convince a busines sperson to grant you an interview.

It must look professional and exemplify those traits you want the employer to believe you

possess

It must be typed on business-size band.

MODULE 7

65

It must have overall neat appearance: margins should be wide and balanced. Headings

should stand out and should be parallel. Corrections should be invisible: the finished product must

be perfect.

The information contained on your CV must be accurate, expressed in short phrases, rather

than whole sentences, and complete. It should consist of facts. Nowadays, it is preferable to keep a

resume to one page. This means that you must be efficient in selecting the facts to include and

clever in arranging them. In making these decisions, keep in mind the specific job for which you are

applying.

A curriculum vitae must be factual, objective and brief and it usually contains the

following sections:

• Personal data: name, address, date and place of birth, sex, marital

status,number of children, nationality.

• Employment objective: many career conselors recommend that this be

included and listed first, immediately after your name and address. Mentioning a clearly defined

job goal creates the favorable impression that you are a well-directed, motivated individual.

• Education: list, in reverse chronological order, the schools you have

attended, with names, dates of attendance, and degrees or diplomas awarded.

• Work experience: each job experience should be listed ( again, with the most

recent job first ) with your position or title, employer’s name and address, dates of employment,

and a brief description of your responsibilities.

• Extracurricular activities and Special skills: list anything that might help

you to get the job, any facts that don’t fit under Education or Work Experience, but which

demonstrate an important aspect of your value to an employer (e.g. computer skills, command

of foreign laguages, speed in taking decisions, skills in using high-tech office tools,

communication skills, etc.).

• References: The last section of your CV is a list of those people willing to

vouch for your ability and experience. Former employers and teachers (especially teachers of

job- related courses) are the best references. Each reference should be listed by name, position

or title, business address and telephone number. A minimum of three names is recommended.

You need not use all of these sections; use ,of course only those that are most relevant. Also, the

order in which you list the categories is flexible. You may list your strongest sections first, or

you may list first the section that is most relevant to the job in question.

66

Some companies send application forms which contain more or less the same information as a

CV. In that case it is not necessary to send a separate CV.

Model of CURRICULUM VITAE

CURRICULUM VITAE

• Personal data

First name: Cristian

Surname / Family name: Andone

Date of birth: ……………………

Place of birth: …………………..

Marital status: …………………..

Nationality: Romanian

Home address: ………………….

Phone No.: ………………………...

Business address: Romanian Bank for Development, IT Department

Phone No.: …………………………

• Employment objective

Feeling capable of assuming more responsibility in an emerging market economy, I would like the

challenge of applying new concepts in real life.

• Education

Banking College of the Romanian Banking Institute graduated in 1997, specialised in

banking

1995-1996 Bucharest, one week specialised courses on different banking matters run within

the Training Center of the Romanian Banking Institute (RBI).

March-April 1996: a three week Fulbright scholarship in Denver-Colorado.

Work Experience: bank clerk for the Bancoop (1994-1996 - computer assisted

accountant for BRD (up to now).

67

• Present position

Head of the Computer Assisted Accountancy Unit of the IT Department,

Romanian Bank for Development.

• Special skills

computer skills

command of English, French, German

speed in taking decisions

communication skills

• Other personal details

I am a hard working person

I enjoy team work

I never need an extra day off

• Date: 14th of September 1999

Cristian Andone

LETTER OF APPLICATION

The purpose of a letter of application is to attract an employer’s attention and persuade him

or her to grant you an interview. To do this, the letter presents what you can offer the employer,

rather than what you want from the job.

Like a CV, a letter of application is a sample of your work, and it is, as well, an opportunity

to demonstrate, not just talk about, your skills and personality.

Because a letter of application must sell your qualifications, it must do more than simply

restate your CV. It should state explicitly how your background relates to the specific job and it

68 should emphazise your strongest and most pertinent characteristics. The letter should demonstrate

that you know both yourself and the company.

When writing a letter of application, keep in mind the following principles:

start by attracting attention

continue by describing your qualifications

assure the employer that you are the person for the job

conclude by requesting an interview

A complete application should contain both a letter of application and a CV. It is always

most professional to include both.

Model of APPLICATION LETTER

APPLICATION LETTER ----------------------Street

----------------------------

Phone:------------------------

Mrs. Lesly Quirk

Information Engineering Group Ltd.

Lloyd House

22 Lloyd Street

Manchester

M2 5WA

Dear Mrs. Quirk,

I would like to apply for-----------------------------------------

advertised in ------------------------------------------

As you can see -------------------------- I have had--------------

69 I enclose ------------------------------------------ and I will be available -----------------------------------

---------------------------------------------------- I will be free ------------------------------------------

Yours sincerely,

EXPLANATORY NOTES

Words and Phrases:

application = a request for something, e.g. a job, a place in a college.

application form = a document which is filled and signed by a person who is applying for

something, e.g. a job, a passport, a driving license

applicant = a person who puts in an application for something.

asset = something that is owned by a person or a company, such as money, a building, a car.

to asses = to judge the quality or worth of ( a person or thing )

grant = a gift of money, e.g. from the government especially for education

to advertise = to make ( something, usually goods or services) known to companies or the general

public e.g. by means of newspaper, magazines, posters, cinema, television or radio.

advertisment = a notice of something which is being advertised

vacancy = the state of being vacant, a post which is vacant

consumer market = all the people who buy to satisfy their own needs or those of their families.

cost effectiveness = is a method etc., giving value for money, often in comparison with something

else, e.g. spending money on advertising in newspaper instead of television.

EXERCISES

☺ PROGRESS TEST

1. Read the following advertisment and write your CV and a letter of

application for the position mentioned. Before writing them have a look at the explanatory

notes above:

70

MARKET RESEARCH SPECIALIST

MONSATO has a vacancy in its fast growing Agricultural Products Company, for a

MARKET RESEARCH SPECALIST (M/F) with responsibility for a selection of European

countries. The position is based at our European Headquarters in Brussels and reports to the Market

Research Mgr, Europe.

The ideal candidate will be a university graduate, preferably with a degree in agricultural

sciences or economics and have three to five years experience in the consumer market research

area. Experience in advertising research as well as acquaintance with basic operations research

would be assets. Frequent travel will be called for, and fluency in English as well as French and/or

German is useful.

The position holds responsibility for quality, methodology, cost effectiveness analysis and

impact of market research projects in Europe.

Opportunities for career growth associated with this appointment are exceptionally good. A

competitive salary is offered and overall conditions are in line with what is expected of a major

international company.

Application in confidence should be addressed to L.Borrill Manager, Personnel at Monsato

Europe S.A., avenue de Tervuren 270-272 at 1150 Brussels.

71

COMPANY FORMATION

A company is also called a firm or a business. While it is producing goods or trading, it is

said to be business. A firm which is just starting up is going into business and a company which

stops operating goes out of business. If a company gets bigger, it expands. The expansion or a firm

means it can produce more goods or sell more products.

A manufacturing company produces goods. The goods it makes are its products. When a

manufacturing company expands, it usually increases production. If one year it produces a hundred

tonnes and the next year it produces a hundred and ten tonnes, it has increased production by ten

percent.

A company which sells goods in large quantities (in bulk) is called a wholesale distributor

(or wholesaler). A company or person buying goods in bulk and selling them in small quantities is a

retailer. Most local shops are retailers and sell goods retail.

Two or more companies which sell or manufacture the same product are competitors. They

are in competition and they compete for customers. It is important to keep ahead of

competition by selling at competitive prices. If one company has an advantage over its competitors,

it gives them an edge on the market.

An area where there is a demand for certain goods is called a market. A company which

markets (sells) goods locally caters for the local market. A company which sells goods abroad is an

exporter. An export company sells goods on the international (or overseas) market. A company

which starts selling goods overseas is said to go into exporting (or to go into the export business).

The money needed to start a business is called capital. If a person does not have enough

capital he may borrow some from the bank in the form of a loan or an overdraft. Before the bank

will give him a loan he must put up some security (such as his house) in case he cannot pay back the

money. Security is also called collateral. If a business owned by one man (a sole trader or

MODULE 8

72 proprietor) runs into trouble, the owner is liable to pay all the debts to his creditors, even if he has to

sell his private possessions. A sole trader is personally liable to his creditors.

Sometimes two or more people own and run a business. This is called a partnership. People

who invest money in a business are called investors or backers. The backers in a partnership are all

partners and owners. Usually all the partners have personal unlimited liability for debts to creditors.

A partner who invests money in a partnership but who does not run the business is called a sleeping

partner.

All the investors in a limited company have limited liability. Investment in a Ltd. is in the

form of shares. Everyone who buys shares in the company is a shareholder. The liability of each

shareholder is limited to the amount of his investment. If a person has shares in a company, he is

said to have stake or holding in the company. If he holds 20 % of the shares, he has a 20 % stake. If

a shareholder hs more than 50 holding, he is a majority shareholder and he has a majority for

controlling interest in the company.

Capital which is borrowed is called loan capital. Capital obtained from investment is called

share capital or equity capital. The ratio between the loan capital and the equity capital determines

whether a company has a high gearing or a low gearing. A company which is highly geared has a

high proportion of loan capital. A company which is low geared has proportionately more equity

capital.

EXPLANATORY NOTES

Words and Phrases

to go into business = a se lansa în afaceri

to run a business = a conduce o afacere

to go out of business = a se retrage dintr-o afacere

wholesale = the sale of goods in large amounts as to retailers rather than the consumers

directly (opposed to retail) s. = vânzare angro

wholesaler = angrosist

retail = the sale of goods to ultimate consumers, usually in small quantities

to sell at retail = a vinde cu amănuntul / cu bucata

to sell in bulk = a vinde cu ridicata

73 retailer = negustor detailist (cu bucata)

to compete (with, for) = a se lua la întrecere

competitor = concurent, rival, competitor

overdraft = the amount of money owed to a bank by a person, usually an amount agreed by

the bank and the customer

to cater = a procura, a deservi

caterer = furnizor, persoană care aprovizionează

liability = money owed, debts or pecuniary obligations = răspundere, responsabilitate,

garanţie

barker = a person or organisation that supports a bussines, idea with money

1. susţinător, sprijinitor, adept; 2. girant

sleeping partner = comanditar

share = one of the equal parts into which the money (capital) needed for starting or running

a company is divided = participare, acţiune

shareholder = a holder or owner of shares, especially in a company or corporation

= acţionar

to hold shares in a company = a fi acţionar al unei societăţi

holding company = a company which controls one or more companies (by owning more than

half the ordinary shares in them)

loan holder = creditor ipotecar

equity capital = capital propriu

gearing = the relationship between the value of a company’s fixed interest loan capital and its

ordinary shares. If the amount of these loans is greater than the value of the

ordinary shares,the company is said to be highly-geared. If less, it is low-geared.

74

EXERCISES

SELF – EVALUATION

• Match the following:

1. shareholder a. utility

2. retail b. pecuniary obligations

3. to sell at retail c. owner of shares

4. electric light system d. to sell directly at the consumer

5. liability e the sale of goods in large amounts

6. wholesale f. the sale of goods to ultimate consumers, usually in

small quantities

- a. b. c. d. e. f.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

☺ PROGRESS TEST


Winners of the future will be those who can best understand the environment in which they

operate and who have the ability to exploit changing market conditions by anticipating correctly

future trends and demands. They will be those organisations which “anticipate the future by

understanding the present” and which are adept at managing the process of change.

75 In modern business, information is vital to decision-making. The quality of any decision

depend on the relevance, accuracy and timeliness of the information available. Paraphrasing the

saying “Knowledge is power”, today business world steps forward and says: “Information is

power”. Information is the essential word in a business environment and the key to progress.

These are only a few reasons for which one should sense the importance of both

professionalism and knowledge/information as key features a person or a business taken as a whole

is supposed to possess in the business world of the future.

(According to: “The Times” and “Business Planning”, by Bill Richardson,

Roy Richardson, 1992, page 122)

TYPES OF BUSINESS

The best way of classifying businesses is according to the business ownership. The most

common forms of business ownership are:

• sole proprietorship;

• partnership;

• corporation.

Each form of ownership has a characteristic internal structure, legal status, size, and field to

which it is best suited. Each has key advantages and disadvantages and offers the employees a

distinctive working environment with its own risks and rewards.

A sole proprietorship is a business owned and usually operated by a single individual. It is

the easiest form of business to start with limited funds. As a sole proprietor, you work for yourself,

you are the only one who decides when to work, how many hours a day, whom to hire, in a word

you are independent. But you also have unlimited liability and restricted financial resources. A

proprietorship has a limited life. When the proprietor dies, the business often dies, too. A proprietor

who wants to make sure his business will grow and continue without him, generally forms a

partnership or merges with a larger business.

A partnership is an unincorporated business owned and operated by two or more

individuals under a voluntary legal association. There are general partnerships, in which all partners

76 are legally equal and are liable for business’s debts, and limited partnerships, in which one or more

people act as general partners, the other partners are passive investors whose liability is limited to

the amount of their capital contribution.

A partnership has an increased capital and credit sources, greater profit potential, unlimited

life span; but the general partners have an unlimited liability, they might have

management problems, etc. That’s why, many professionals (such as doctors, accountants, lawyers)

prefer establishing corporation to partnerships.

A corporation is a legally chartered enterprise with most of the legal rights of a person,

including the right to conduct a business, to own and sell property, to borrow money and to sue or

be sued. There are different types of corporations: public corporations (that is, companies owned by

large numbers of public investors; these investors buy stock on the open market, thereby providing

public corporations with large amounts of permanent capital; in return, the shareholders receive the

chance to share in the profits if the corporation succeeds); private corporations (corporations whose

stock is not available to the general public; they withhold their stock from public sale, preferring to

finance any expansion out of their own earnings or to borrow from some other source); nonprofit

corporations (are incorporated institutions whose owners have limited liability and that exist to

provide a social service rather than to make a profit); etc.

(Adapted from “Business Today”, by David J.Rackman & co., 1990, p.39)

EXPLANATORY NOTES

Words and Phrases

proprietor = an owner, especially of a business

liability = (1) debit; sum of money that has to be paid

(2) the state of being legally responsible for loss, damage, a debt,etc.

investor = a person who puts money into a company, or who buys shares to make a profit, or who

paid money on deposit at a bank to earn interest

interest = money paid to a lender of cash for the use of it.

to charter = to hire (a ship, a plane,etc.) for a special purpose

to sue = to bring a claim against a person in a court of law

77

EXERCISES

SELF EVALUATION

• Complete the following sentences:

1. A sole proprietorship is a business owned by …………, although it may have many

employees

a. a family

b. an under-aged person

c. just one person

2. Shareholders are ………………. of a corporation.

a. the employees

b. part of the managerial staff

c. the owners

3. A partnership is a ………………. association of two or more individuals as co-

owners of a business for profit

a. loyal

b. legal

c. lawyer

4. …………………… is benefit of sole proprietorships.

a. Secretary

b. Secret

c. Secrecy.

78

☺ PROGRESS TEST


The economies of eastern Europe have been transformed during the 1990s. Market-oriented

systems have replaced the old command economies. In the most countries of the region, more than

half of GDP is now generated by the private sector. The governments in the bulk of the region have

comprehensively liberalised prices, external trade and currency arrangements, and privatised small-

scale economic units. It has proved essential that these should have been the first areas of change.

Many have also privatised a substantial share of their larger enterprises.

All transition countries also still face other substantial challenges of reform – for example,

in the areas of banking supervision, the development of banking skills, capital market development,

competition policy, labour market regulation, social security, secured transactions and broad areas

of the legal structure. The ownership transformation has in some places been focused on industry

and services, while leaving the organisational structure in agriculture largely unchanged. Some key

prices, notably those for energy and housing, are still centrally controlled in many countries at

levels that fail to cover production costs (in the case of energy) or clear the market (in the case of

housing).

Despite impressive advances in market-oriented reform, further major challenges lie ahead

in much of the region, including in those countries that have moved the furthest in their market-

oriented transition, such as those that have become members of the NATO and are prospective

members of the European Union.

(Slightly adapted from Transition Report 1996, European Bank for Reconstruction

and Development, Royal Print Limited London)

• Put the verbs in brackets into the right tense in the text below:

Romanian firmly (express) ……………………. its option for integration into the European

Union and (file) …………………… an official application for accession to E.U. on June 22, 1995.

This accession (become) …………………. a nation strategic objective toward which the priorities

and aspirations of all the country’s social and political forces regarding Romania’s destiny are

converging.

79

WRITING TASKS TEME DE CONTROL

REFERAT NR. 1 ( modulele 1 – 4 )

Rezolvaţi testele de la următoarele pagini: pag. 3, pag. 5, pag. 8, pag. 10, pag. 13, pag. 15, pag. 17,

pag. 18, pag. 21, pag. 23, pag. 27, pag. 31, pag. 34, pag. 35, pag. 37, pag. 41, pag. 44

REFERAT NR. 2 ( modulele 5 – 8 )

Rezolvaţi testele de la următoarele pagini: pag. 47, pag. 48, pag. 49, pag. 51, pag. 52, pag. 53, pag.

56, pag. 58, pag. 60, pag. 66, pag. 71, pag. 75

80

BIBLIOGRAPHY

ALEXANDRESCU C., Îndreptar de limbă engleză pentru agronomi, Ed. Ceres, Bucureşti,

1984.

ALEXANDRESCU C., Limba engleză pentru horticultori, Ed. Moldova, 1998

BLAKE FRANCIS, Organic Farming and Growing, WBC Book Mnufactures Ltd.,

Bridgend, Mid Glamorgan, 1990

BUTLER RICHARD, HALL C. MICHAEL, Tourism and Recreation in Rural Areas,

John Wiley and Sons Ltd, Baffins Lane, West Sussex, 1998

CALLUT JEAN PAUL, Business Vocabulary Based on “English for Managers” (a

selection of texts ), Louvain la Neuve 1988

CICIUC OLEA, TĂNĂSESCU EUGENIA, English for Business Purposes, Ed. Teora,

Bucureşti, 1998

DAVID FRANCIS , Family Agriculture (Tradition and Transformation), Earthscan

Publications Ltd., London, l994

HOHAN, LUCIA TRANCOTĂ, Ştiţi să redactaţi o scrisoare în limba engleză ?,

Ed. Albatros, Bucureşti, 1984

JULES N. PRETTY, Regenerating Agriculture (Policies and Practice for Sustainability and

Self-Reliance), Earthscan Publications Ltd., London, l995

LEVIŢCHI LEON, Gramatica limbii engleze, Ed. Stiinţifică, Bucureşti, 1967

MUNTEAN LEON C., BORCEAN I., AXINTE M., Fitotehnie, Ed. Didactică şi

pedagogică, R.A. Bucureşti, l995

NORTON, GEORGE W., JEFFREY ALWANG , Introduction to Economics of

Agricultural Development, (McGraw-Hill Book Co.), l993

YATES, C. ST., Agriculture (English for Academic Purposes Series), Cassel Publishers

Limited, l989

81

DICŢIONARE

Dicţionar englez – român, Ed. Acad. Română, 1974

Dicţionar român – englez, Ed. Ştiinţifică, Bucureşti, 1973

Dicţionar agricol în opt limbi, Praga, 1970

Dicţionar de ştiinţa solului, Ed. Ştiinţifică şi enciclopedică, Bucureşti,1977

Dicţionar de economie român – englez şi englez – român, Ed. Niculescu S.R.L.,

Bucureşti,1997

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Current English, Oxford, 1964

Collins Business English Dictionary, London 1989

82

CONTENTS CUPRINS

MODULE 1 …………………………………………………………………………………….. 3

THE PARTS OF A PLANT AND THEIR FUNCTIONS ………………………………… 3 Exercises …………………………………………………………………………………… 5 ROOTS …………………………………………………………………………………….. 6 Exercises ………………………………………………………………………………….... 8 STEMS …………………………………………………………………………………….. 9 Exercises …………………………………………………………………………………… 10 LEAVES …………………………………………………………………………………… 11 Exercises …………………………………………………………………………………… 12 FLOWERS …………………………………………………………………………………. 14 Exercises …………………………………………………………………………………… 15 SEEDS AND FRUITS ……………………………………………………………………... 16 Exercises …………………………………………………………………………………… 17 THE LIFE CYCLE OF A PLANT ………………………………………………………… 18 Exercises …………………………………………………………………………………… 20

MODULE 2 …………………………………………………………………………………….. 22

PLANT CLASSIFICATION ………………………………………………………………. 22 Exercises …………………………………………………………………………………… 24 PLANT GROUPS ………………………………………………………………………….. 25 Exercises …………………………………………………………………………………… 26

MODULE 3 …………………………………………………………………………………….. 27

THE ORIGIN AND COMPOSITION OF SOIL ………………………………………….. 27 Exercises …………………………………………………………………………………… 30 SOIL EROSION AND ITS CONTROL …………………………………………………… 31 TYPES OF WATER EROSION …………………………………………………………… 32 WIND EROSION ………………………………………………………………………….. 32 Exercises …………………………………………………………………………………… 33 SOIL DRAINAGE AND IRRIGATION ………………………………………………….. 34 Exercises …………………………………………………………………………………… 37 IRRIGATION ……………………………………………………………………………… 38

83

Exercises …………………………………………………………………………………… 40

MODULE 4 ………………………………………………………………………………….….. 41

TILLAGE ………………………………………………………………………………….. 41 Exercises …………………………………………………………………………………… 43 FARM MACHINERY ……………………………………………………………………... 44 Exercises …………………………………………………………………………………… 47

MODULE 5 …………………………………………………………………………………….. 48

MANURES AND FERTILIZERS…………………………………………………………. 48 Exercises …………………………………………………………………………………… 50 THE CONTROL OF WEEDS AND PLANT DISEASES …………………………………53 Exercises …………………………………………………………………………………… 54

MODULE 6 …………………………………………………………………………………….. 57

THE ABOVEGROUND ENVIRONMENT ………………………………………………. 57 Exercises …………………………………………………………………………………... 59 ECOLOGY AND AGRICULTURE ………………………………………………………. 60 Exercises …………………………………………………………………………………… 61 ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS AND POLICIES …………………………………….. 61 Exercises …………………………………………………………………………………… 63

MODULE 7 …………………………………………………………………………………….. 64 EMPLOYMENT CORRESPONDENCE ………………………………………………….. 64 CURRICULUM VITAE …………………………………………………………………… 64 LETTER OF APPLICATION ……………………………………………………………... 67 Exercises …………………………………………………………………………………… 69

MODULE 8 …………………………………………………………………………………….. 71

COMPANY FORMATION ……………………………………………………………….. 71 Exercises …………………………………………………………………………………… 74 TYPES OF BUSINESS ……………………………………………………………………. 75 Exercises …………………………………………………………………………………… 77

WRITING TASKS ……………………………………………………………………………… 79 BIBLIOGRAPHY ………………………………………………………………………………. 80

Engle Za

Documents

natural resource degradation

poor cropping practices

bud scale scars

explanatory notes words

decomposed organic matter

tap root system

smaller sized particles

larger sized particles