Letham Shank Glossary

Common terms used in Agriculture and the Countryside.

Acre

An acre is the traditional unit of measure and is a square approximately 209 feet per side (=4840 sq. yds.). The amount one man and two oxen could plough in a day. It is gradually being replaced by the metric unit the Hectare.

Adjuvant

A substance other than water, when mixed in the spray mixture is intended to enhance the effectiveness of a pesticide.

Agribusiness

A progression from farming that combines agriculture and business. Large areas of land and large numbers of animals may be involved but with less interest in the environment and animal welfare than traditional family farms.

Agronomist

Qualified person who inspects crops and advises growers on agronomy, varieties, herbicides etc.

Air (Seed) Drill

A seed drill where air supplied by a fan is used as the medium to transport the seed from the metering unit (Picture) to the coulters.(Picture)

Ammonium nitrate

One of the main sources of artificial nitrogen fertiliser. Generally it is supplied as a prill and contains around one third of it's weight as 'nitrogen'.

Anthrax

A serious, sometimes fatal disease of animals and humans caused by a soil borne bacteria.

Aphids

Small insects that feed by sucking the sap from plants. They are the carriers of many viruses that affect a range of plants and crops.

Ash

(Fraxinus excelsior) Species of large deciduous tree native to Europe which likes heavy alkaline loams.

Auger

Long tubular pieces of equipment to move grain. Augers have a spiral screw inside an outer tube which pushes the grain from the lower end to the top end. They are usually powered by electric motors and vary in diameter from 75mm up to 300mm (Picture) gal/Machinery/madrier_disch.jpg