Weather and climate
Active growing period
The phase during which air temperatures consistently remain above the threshold required for the rapid growth and physiological development of crops.
Agronomy knowledge
Agronomist dictionary
Short and clear definitions of agronomic terms: soil cultivation, sowing, nutrition, plant protection, machinery, and crop storage.
All topics535
Soil and tillage55
Sowing and varieties55
Nutrition and fertilizers55
Crop protection55
Machinery and irrigation55
Storage and economics55
Growth and development55
Weather and climate55
Breeding and seed production55
Digital farming40
Terms in section: 55
A
Weather and climate
Active temperatures
The sum of daily average air temperatures above the biological minimum required for the growth and development of a specific crop.
Weather and climate
Agroclimatic resource
This refers to the set of natural conditions of an area, such as heat, light, and moisture, that determine the potential and efficiency of cultivating agricultu...
Weather and climate
Agroclimatic zoning
This is the classification of regions into zones with similar climatic conditions to optimize the selection and management of agricultural crops.
Weather and climate
Agrometeorological forecast
This is a scientific prediction of weather conditions that directly impact crop growth, soil moisture levels, and the timing of essential farming operations.
Weather and climate
Agrometeorological monitoring
A system of regular observations of weather conditions and their impact on crops to facilitate informed agricultural decision-making.
Weather and climate
Atmospheric drought
A period characterized by high temperatures and low air humidity, leading to excessive transpiration in plants and potential wilting despite available soil mois...
Weather and climate
Available water
The portion of soil moisture that can be readily absorbed by plant roots, held between field capacity and the permanent wilting point.
Weather and climate
Available water capacity
This is the amount of water in the soil that can be absorbed by plant roots, calculated as the difference between the soil moisture at field capacity and the pe...
B
Weather and climate
Biological minimum temperature
This is the lowest air or soil temperature at which plants begin their metabolic processes, growth, and development.
Weather and climate
Biological productivity of climate
A quantitative indicator representing the potential capacity of regional climate conditions to support the formation of agricultural crop biomass.
C
Weather and climate
Climatic normal
The arithmetic average of a climate element computed over a long period, typically used as a baseline to compare current weather patterns.
Weather and climate
Climatic potential
It refers to the combination of natural climatic resources in a region that determines the maximum possible agricultural productivity under optimal management p...
Weather and climate
Continentality of climate
This is a measure of the difference between the temperatures of the warmest and coldest months of the year, indicating the severity of a region's climate.
Weather and climate
Critical period of water consumption
This is a developmental stage of a plant during which water deficiency causes the most significant irreversible damage to crop yield and quality.
D
Weather and climate
Drought
A prolonged period of abnormally low precipitation leading to a water deficit in the soil and significant stress or crop failure in agricultural systems.
Weather and climate
Drought tolerance
This is the ability of agricultural crops to maintain growth and yield under conditions of soil moisture deficit and low air humidity.
E
Weather and climate
Effective temperatures
This is the accumulation of air temperatures above a specific biological base threshold required for a crop to complete a developmental stage.
Weather and climate
Evaporability
Evaporability is the maximum amount of moisture that can evaporate from the soil surface and plants under given weather conditions, assuming an unlimited water...
Weather and climate
Evapotranspiration
The sum of evaporation from the soil surface and transpiration from plants into the atmosphere.
F
Weather and climate
Field capacity
Field capacity is the amount of soil moisture or water content held in the soil after excess water has drained away by gravity.
Weather and climate
Frost-free period
The interval between the last spring frost and the first autumn frost, during which the air temperature remains above zero degrees Celsius.
Weather and climate
Frosts
A weather phenomenon where air temperatures drop below the freezing point of water during the night or early morning while daytime temperatures remain positive.
G
Weather and climate
Groundwater table depth
This is the vertical distance from the soil surface to the upper boundary of the saturated zone, which determines the drainage and irrigation requirements of a...
Weather and climate
Growing Degree Days
It is a heat accumulation index used to estimate the development stages of crops by calculating the sum of daily mean temperatures above a specific biological t...
Weather and climate
Growing season
It is the period of the year when climatic conditions allow plants to actively grow, develop, and produce a harvest.
H
Weather and climate
Heat availability
This is a measure of how well environmental temperature conditions meet the biological growth requirements of agricultural crops during their growing season.
Weather and climate
Hydrothermal Coefficient (HTC)
An index of moisture availability calculated as the ratio of precipitation to the sum of active temperatures over a specific period.
Weather and climate
Hydrothermal coefficient per decade
The hydrothermal coefficient per decade is an indicator of moisture availability for crops, calculated as the ratio of total precipitation to the sum of active...
Weather and climate
Hydrothermal regime
It is the combination of moisture levels and temperature conditions in the soil and atmosphere that dictates the growth and development of crops.
M
Weather and climate
Maximum hygroscopicity
The maximum amount of moisture a dry soil can absorb from the atmosphere under saturation conditions, expressed as a percentage of the soil's dry weight.
Weather and climate
Moisture coefficient
An indicator representing the ratio of annual precipitation to potential evapotranspiration, used to determine moisture availability for crop production.
N
Weather and climate
Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI)
The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index is a simple graphical indicator used to assess whether the target area contains live green vegetation or not based on...
P
Weather and climate
Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR)
The spectral range of solar radiation from 400 to 700 nanometers that photosynthetic organisms are able to use in the process of photosynthesis.
Weather and climate
Plant hardening
The practice of gradually exposing indoor-grown seedlings to outdoor conditions like cooler temperatures and wind to prepare them for transplanting.
Weather and climate
Potential evapotranspiration
This is the maximum amount of water that would evaporate from soil and transpire from plant surfaces if water supply were not limited.
Weather and climate
Precipitation sum
This is the total volume of moisture, such as rain, snow, or dew, that has fallen on a specific area over a given period, typically measured in millimeters.
R
Weather and climate
Radiation balance
Radiation balance is the difference between the total solar radiation absorbed by the earth's surface and the effective outgoing radiation emitted by it.
Weather and climate
Relative humidity
It is the ratio of the actual amount of water vapor in the air to the maximum amount the air could hold at a specific temperature, expressed as a percentage.
S
Weather and climate
Selyaninov Hydrothermal Coefficient
The Hydrothermal Coefficient (HTC) is a meteorological indicator used in agriculture to assess soil moisture levels by comparing precipitation totals against ac...
Weather and climate
Selyaninov's Hydrothermal Coefficient
Selyaninov's Hydrothermal Coefficient (HTC) is an agrometeorological index used to assess the degree of moisture supply by comparing precipitation amounts with...
Weather and climate
Soil drought
A condition where available soil moisture in the root zone decreases to a level that restricts or prevents normal plant growth.
Weather and climate
Soil frost penetration depth
This is the maximum depth from the soil surface to the bottom layer where the temperature drops to or below zero degrees during the winter season.
Weather and climate
Soil moisture
This is the amount of water held in the soil pores, expressed as a percentage of the dry soil mass or volume, which serves as a primary source for crop water up...
Weather and climate
Soil thermal regime
The pattern of soil temperature variations over time, determined by heat exchange processes between the soil surface, the atmosphere, and deeper soil layers.
Weather and climate
Soil water balance
Soil water balance is the quantitative relationship between the water inputs to the soil and the water losses over a specific period of time.
T
Weather and climate
Temperature inversion
A weather phenomenon where air temperature increases with altitude, preventing the normal vertical mixing of air near the ground.
Weather and climate
Temperature threshold
A specific temperature range that triggers, maintains, or terminates essential biological processes and physiological development stages in crops.
Weather and climate
Transpiration ratio
The transpiration ratio is the amount of water in grams required by a plant to produce one gram of dry matter.
V
Weather and climate
Vapor pressure deficit
The difference between the amount of moisture in the air and how much moisture the air can hold when saturated at a specific temperature.
Weather and climate
Vegetation minimum
This is the minimum level of environmental factors, such as temperature, required for a plant to sustain its vital metabolic processes and development.
W
Weather and climate
Water use efficiency
A metric representing the amount of water required by a crop to produce a unit of dry biomass.
Weather and climate
Wilting point
The minimum level of soil moisture required for a plant to not wilt, below which the plant cannot recover and will permanently wither.
Weather and climate
Wilting point
The minimum soil moisture level required for a plant not to wilt, below which water is held so tightly by soil particles that it becomes unavailable to roots.
Z
Weather and climate
Zone of risky agriculture
A region with unfavorable climatic conditions where crop yields are unstable due to extreme temperature fluctuations or insufficient precipitation.