One of the only forms of harvesting which includes a resource such as phosphate. Nauru phosphate harvesting is unique to the island. For example, if a person or business was to cash out of an ownership position in a company or eliminate their investment in a product, it is known as a harvest strategy. In a non-agricultural sense, the word "harvesting" is an economic principle which is known as an exit event or liquidity event. In a similar sense, organ harvesting is the removal of tissues or organs from a donor for purposes of transplanting. Body harvesting, or cadaver harvesting, is the process of collecting and preparing cadavers for anatomical study. Energy harvesting is the process of capturing and storing energy (such as solar power, thermal energy, wind energy, salinity gradients, and kinetic energy) that would otherwise go unexploited. Instead of harvest, the term exploit is also used, as in exploiting fisheries or water resources. Within the context of irrigation, water harvesting refers to the collection and run-off of rainwater for agricultural or domestic uses. The term harvest is also used in reference to harvesting grapes for wine. Harvesting commonly refers to grain and produce, but also has other uses: fishing and logging are also referred to as harvesting. Fertilizers obviate the need for soil regeneration in the first place, and international trade prevents local crop failures from developing into famines. With a steadily-increasing world population and local overpopulation, even slightly diminishing yields are already the equivalent to a partial harvest failure. Over years, unsustainable farming of land degrades soil fertility and diminishes crop yield. The proliferation of industrial monocultures, with their reduction in crop diversity and dependence on heavy use of artificial fertilizers and pesticides, has led to overexploited soils that are nearly incapable of regeneration. In history, crop failures and subsequent famines have triggered human migration, rural exodus, etc. ( January 2016) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message)Ĭrop failure (also known as harvest failure) is an absent or greatly diminished crop yield relative to expectation, caused by the plants being damaged, killed, or destroyed, or affected in some way that they fail to form edible fruit, seeds, or leaves in their expected abundance.Ĭrop failures can be caused by catastrophic events such as plant disease outbreaks (such as the Great Famine in Ireland), heavy rainfall, volcanic eruptions, storms, floods, or drought, or by slow, cumulative effects of soil degradation, too-high soil salinity, erosion, desertification, usually as results of drainage, overdrafting (for irrigation), overfertilization, or overexploitation. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. The completion of harvesting marks the end of the growing season, or the growing cycle for a particular crop, and the social importance of this event makes it the focus of seasonal celebrations such as harvest festivals, found in many religions. The term "harvesting" in general usage may include immediate postharvest handling, including cleaning, sorting, packing, and cooling.
Specialized harvesting equipment utilizing conveyor belts to mimic gentle gripping and mass-transport replaces the manual task of removing each seedling by hand. Process automation has increased the efficiency of both the seeding and harvesting processes. On large mechanized farms, harvesting uses the most expensive and sophisticated farm machinery, such as the combine harvester. On smaller farms with minimal mechanization, harvesting is the most labor-intensive activity of the growing season. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulse for harvest, typically using a scythe, sickle, or reaper. Harvesting is the process of gathering a ripe crop from the fields. Straw of hay in a field of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.