Learn English – Single word for collective knowledge of plants and cultivation

single-word-requests

I've been trying to find one single word that covers knowledge concerning both the properties and cultivation of plants, but have come short with some words.

Here are some of the words I thought of, but eventually found lacking:

Botany: I feel this implies purely scientific research on plants, ignoring the cultivation of plants and things like crop rotations and irrigation techniques.

Agriculture: I think this word only covers food crops and plants commonly grown for decoration. I feel it misses out on the more thorough knowledge of all (not just commonly cultivated) plants, including currently unknown ones.

Ultimately, I'm looking for a word that encompasses the subjects of both Botany and Agriculture, but have come short for now.

Best Answer

Looking into this, I just learned a new word:

Agronomy

Agronomy is the science and technology of producing and using plants for food, fuel, fibre, and land reclamation. Agronomy encompasses work in the areas of plant genetics, plant physiology, meteorology, and soil science. Agronomy is the application of a combination of sciences like biology, chemistry, economics, ecology, earth science, and genetics. Agronomists today are involved with many issues including producing food, creating healthier food, managing environmental impact of agriculture, and extracting energy from plants. Agronomists often specialize in areas such as crop rotation, irrigation and drainage, plant breeding, plant physiology, soil classification, soil fertility, weed control, and insect and pest control.

(Emphasis mine)

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