agronomy

noun

agron·​o·​my ə-ˈgrä-nə-mē How to pronounce agronomy (audio)
: a branch of agriculture dealing with field-crop production and soil management
agronomic adjective
agronomically adverb
agronomist noun

Examples of agronomy in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The Times interviewed a dozen academics — in fields ranging from law to psychology to agronomy — who have left Florida public universities or given their notice, many headed to blue states. Stephanie Saul, New York Times, 3 Dec. 2023 Crabtree worked for Allen Canning Co. for eight years, then for Farmers Cooperative as its agronomy manager before leaving the firm to farm full-time with his father. Lynn Kutter, Arkansas Online, 31 Oct. 2023 Some areas of research and development that could benefit cassava production include breeding and genetics, agronomy and crop management, processing and value addition, post-harvest management and climate change adaptation. Daniel Danino, Forbes, 16 Mar. 2023 Crawford is a professor of civil engineering, agronomy, and electrical and computer engineering at Purdue University, in West Lafayette, Ind. IEEE Spectrum, 28 June 2023 Jesús Miguel Olivas-García, a professor of agronomy at the Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua, has been studying the sotol plant since 1997. Rachel Monroe, The New Yorker, 11 July 2023 Arthur plans to attend Northwest Missouri State University to study agronomy and horticulture. USA Today, 7 June 2023 Andrea Basche, an agronomy professor at the University of Nebraska who has used aerial imagery of fields at smaller scales, says the 35 percent estimate may be a little high and that verifying modeling results on the ground by surveying soils in person is important. Becca Dzombak, Smithsonian Magazine, 14 Apr. 2021 Erika Styger, a professor of tropical agronomy at Cornell University, said the villagers could divide the fields into sections and rotate what’s planted in each area — rice one year, cassava the next — then let that section rest with cover crops for several years. Caroline Chen, ProPublica, 27 Feb. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'agronomy.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French agronomie, from agronome "agronomist" (borrowed from Greek agronómos "official in charge of country districts, land steward," from agro- agro- + -nomos, agentive derivative, with o-grade ablaut, of némein "to graze, pasture [animals], have management or control of, rule, direct") + -ie -y entry 2 — more at nimble

First Known Use

1796, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of agronomy was in 1796

Dictionary Entries Near agronomy

Cite this Entry

“Agronomy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/agronomy. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

agronomy

noun
agron·​o·​my ə-ˈgrän-ə-mē How to pronounce agronomy (audio)
: a branch of agriculture that deals with the raising of crops and the care of the soil
agronomist noun

More from Merriam-Webster on agronomy

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