CRC Dictionary of Agricultural Sciences

681 Pages·2001·13.537 MB·\681

by  Robert Alan Lewis (Author)

CRC
AGRICULTURAL
SCIENCES
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Lewis, Roben A. (Roben Alan)
CRC dictionary of agricultural sciences I Roben A. Lewis.
p. em.
ISBN 0-8493-2327-4 (alk. paper)
I. Agriculture-Dictionaries. I. CRC Press. II. Title.
S411 .L39 2001
630'.3-dc21 2001052483
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International Standard Book Number 0-8493-2327-4
Library of Congress Card Number 2001052483
CRC
DICTIONARY OF
AGRICULTURAL
SCIENCES
Robert A. Lewis
CRC PRESS
Boca Raton London New York Washington, D.C.

About The Author
Robert A. Lewis, Ph.D., is the author or editor of numerous scientific papers and books written
in English and German. Contributions include basic research in physiology, endocrinology, and
animal behavior; applied research on air pollution and toxic chemicals; and chemical, biological,
and environmental monitoring and specimen banking as applied to human health and environmental
effects.
In addition to a long record of basic and applied research, the author has made contributions
to contemporary society through outstanding national and international achievements as an inventor
and as an academic and government administrator in both the U.S. and Germany. He developed
and coordinated several programs of research that were national or international in scope, and he
has served as an administrator of governmental organizations and national programs in the U.S.
Although an American, he has also served as an academic administrator, director of a research
institute, and leader of national programs of research in the Federal Republic of Germany.
Dr. Lewis led a team that selected the National Environmental Research and Assessment Parks
of the Federal Republic of Germany and later developed sampling designs and protocols for
chemical and biological monitoring and specimen banking to be conducted on a continuing basis.
The author has made a number of technological innovations including invention and codesign
of the Zonal Air Pollution System (ZAPS), a research tool that is able to continuously deliver and
monitor the direct and indirect effects of gaseous pollutants on agricultural crops and other eco-
systems throughout entire growing seasons. Since introduction, this pioneer system (in its. original
form or with design modifications) has been used in various programs in the U.S., Canada, and
Europe to assess the impacts of sulfur dioxide, ozone, and carbon dioxide on various crops including,
for example, grasses, broccoli, clover, cotton, tobacco, peas, soybeans, wheat, and even trees. It
has also been employed in the National Crop Loss Assessment Program sponsored by the EPA.
Other technological innovations include the design, construction, and application of an air
quality monitoring and micrometeorological network in Montana to help assess the effects of air
pollution on the range resources of the state.
The author also successfully standardized and applied remote sensing to the assessment of
chronic pollution effects on ponderosa pine forests and grasslands in the northcentral Great Plains.
Among many other contributions to agriculture, Dr. Lewis served as a rapporteur at the White
House Conference on Technology for a Sustainable Future; The President's Task Force on Water
Quality; the American-German Specimen Banking Program; and the Health, Safety and Environ-
mental Task Force for the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
Dr. Lewis holds degrees from Ohio State University, Rutgers University, and the University of
Washington. His biography appears in various editions of Who's Who in America, Who's Who in
Science and Technology, and various other biographic sources.

A
1080. sodium fluoroacetate. aa. amino acid.
a. lower case symbol for the Greek letter AA. amino acid.
alpha, q.v.
AAA. Agricultural Adjustment Act.
a-, an-. prefixes meaning 1: on, in, at. 2:
negation of the quality expressed by the AAF. N-2-fluorenylacetarnide.
root; without, lacking, not.
2-AAF. N-2-fluorenylacetamide.
a posteriori. pertaining to a manner or sys-
tem of reasoning whereby one attempts to AAL. ambient air level.
determine cause from knowledge of the
effect or outcome. q. a priori. AAPFCO. Association of American Plant
Food Control Officials.
a priori. pertaining to a manner or system of
reasoning whereby one infers an effect or ab. antibody.
outcome from a notion or theory regard-
ing cause. Cf a posteriori. Ab. antibody.
A. 1: absorbance. 2: ampere. ab-. a prefix indicating from, away from,
off, derived from.
Ar. relative atomic mass.
ABA. abscisic acid.
A. upper case symbol for the Gr. letter
alpha, q.v. abacterial. lacking or free from bacteria.
A.S.A. acetylsalicylic acid. abalone. common name for mollusks of the
genus Haliotis.
A-frame. 1: a wooden or metal frame that
resembles a capital A. Such structures abamectin (ABM; averrnectin B ). an
1
typically support or hold in position heavy avermectin, q. v.
loads. 2: a structure such as a house with
steeply angled sides that meet at the top abate. 1: to diminish, subside, or decrease,
forming the shape of the letter A. as in the case of environmental pollution
or the symptoms of an illness or disease.
A-scale sound level (A-weighted sound le- 2a: to halt, cease, be arrested. 2b: to
vel). a measurement of sound that ap- bring about a decrease. 2c: to arrest or
proximates the sensitivity of the human cause to cease.
ear. It is used to note the intensity or
annoyance of sounds. Abate. temephos.
A-weighted sound level. A-scale sound abatement. 1: decrease, curtailment, reduc-
leveL tion, subsidence, attenuation, cessation, or
abattoir 2 Abies
termination of a condition or the intensity abdomino-. See abdomin-
of a process (e.g., symptoms of illness,
astorm, environmental pollution). the pro- Aberdeen Angus (angus; black angus; dod-
cess, methods, or means used to abate a die). Ia: an early-maturing breed of ro-
condition or process. 3: decrease in se- bust, usually black, hornless beef cattle
verity of pain or the severity of a disease that originated in Aberdeen and Angus
or its symptoms. 4: wrongful entry onto counties, Scotland. lb: an animal of this
land. Sa: reduction of a bequest due to a breed.
deficiency of assets. 5b: voiding or re-
duction of a will or similar instrument. aberrant. la: abnormal; anomalous, devi-
noise abatement. the reduction of noise ant; unusual. lb: deviating significantly
in areas of human activity and habitation from that which is deemed typical or nor-
to levels that are not disruptive or harmful mal. 2a: of or pertaining to an abnormali-
by technological or regulatory means. pol- ty or anomaly. 2b: pertaining to an ab-
lution abatement. the reduction or elimi- normal subject or process or to an ab-
nation of pollution by the use of techno- normal property of such (e.g., aberrant
logical or legal measures, or both. smoke behavior). 3: said of a: an ectopic ana-
abatement. the application of pollution tomic structure (i.e., one that is not in the
abatement measures to the reduction or usual or expected site) or b: a structure
elimination of smoke in the environment. (such as a duct or nerve) that does not
follow a typical course.
abattoir. slaughterhouse.
aberration. la: an abnormality or anomaly;
abaxial. 1: away from, facing away from, irregularity, deviation, divergence. lb:
or furthest from the axis. 2a: pertaining oddity, peculiarity; eccentricity. lc: an
to the surface of a leaf or other lateral exception to that which is the normal or
organ that is developmentally furthest expected situation or condition. 2a: abnor-
from the apex of the axis (stem or stalk) mal growth or development. 2b: the result
that bears it. 2b: the lower surface of a of abnormal growth or development. chro-
leaf or other lateral organ. Cf. adaxial. mosome aberration. any irregularity or
abnormality in the number of chromo-
abdomen. See belly, venter. somes or the structure of a chromosome.
abdomin-, abdomino-. prefixes that denote abience. 1: avoidance or the tendency to
a relationship to the abdomen. avoid or withdraw from the source of a
stimulus.
abdominal. of or pertaining to the abdomen.
abient. of or pertaining to abience. Cf.
abdominal cavity. that part of the body adient.
cavity (coelom) of vertebrate animals in
which the digestive organs are suspended. Abies (fir). a large genus of North Temper-
In most vertebrates, the abdominal cavity ate Zone coniferous evergreen trees (Fa-
is continuous with the thoracic (chest) mily Pinaceae). All are conical in aspect,
cavity. In mammals, however, the abdo- bearing upright cones, fiat leaves, and
men is separated from the thoracic cavity smooth circular leaf scars, which distin-
by a muscular diaphragm and is bordered guish them from. spruce (Picea). The
caudally by the pelvis. branches are stiff and the foliage is aro-
matic. A. balsamea (balsam fir; Canada
abdominal dropsy. ascites. balsam; eastern fir). an evergreen; the
only fir tree (Family Pinaceae) native to
abietene 3 Abney level
northeastern North America where it oc- abiotrophic. of or pertaining to abiotrophy.
curs mostly in coniferous forests, often
inpure stands. The foliage, as browse, is abiotrophy. a loss of vigor or deterioration
important to deer and moose in winter. It of an organism in the absence of apparent
is used in the manufacture of many wood- injury. Specific cells and tissues are usu-
en products and as Christmas trees. A. ally affected.
lasiocarpa (alpine fir; Arizona fir;
mountain balsam; Rocky Mountain fir). abirritant. able to soothe or relieve irrita-
an ornamental, pyramid-shaped tree of tion; an abirritant preparation. See abirri-
western North America. tation.
abietene. a volatile oil distilled from the abirritation. la: weakness. lb: absence of
resin or balsam of the Pinus sabiniana tone or strength. 2: decreased responsive-
and used in varnishes and lacquers. ness to stimuli. Cf. asthenia; atony.
abiological. not biological; not concerned ablactate. to wean.
with, involving, or produced by living or-
ganisms. ablactation. the weaning of a child or other
mammal.
abiosis. la: the absence of life. lb: incom-
patibility with lite. 2: nonviability. 3: ablate. 1: to remove surgically or to deplete
abiotrophy. or disperse (e.g., by erosion, melting, va-
porization). 2: to be ablated; to undergo
abiotic. la: nonliving, devoid of life. lb: ablation.
not biological in origin. lc: pertaining to
or characterized by the absence of living ablation. la: surgical removal of all or part
organisms or their products; not including of an organ. lb: removal of harmful ma-
living organisms. 2: of or pertaining to terials from the body by mechanical
non-living components of the environment means. 2: erosion of rock surfaces, snow,
(e.g., soil, groundwater, climate). 3a: or glacial ice by running or falling water,
incompatible or antagonistic to lire. 3b: melting, sublimation or evaporation, or
disposed to prevent, inhibit, or destroy calving (breaking off) by running or
lite; incompatible with life. falling water. 3: all environmental pro-
cesses whereby ice or snow erodes or dis-
abiotic disease (physiogenic disease). A sipates.
disease, such as a mineral deficiency, that
is not caused by a living organism or pro- abluent. l: cleansing or purifying. 2: a
duct of a living organism. cleansing or purifying agent such as a
detergent.
abiotic environment. la: the nonliving
environment. lb: the nonliving compo- ablution. a cleansing or washing; bath,
nents, collectively, of an ecosystem; the bathing.
spectrum of physical and chemical factors
in any system that do not arise from bio- ABM. abamectin. See avermectin.
logical activity. 2: that part of the en-
vironment, in reference to an individual Abney level. a hand-held level used to de-
organism, taxon, or living system, that termine elevations and angles of slope in
consists of nonbiological factors. Cf. bi- percent or degrees.
otic environment, abiotic, factor (abiotic).