Growing more for less
Read Growing more for less and check the IELTS Reading answers. For farmers, working out the optimal amount of seed, fertiliser, pesticide and water to scatter on a field can make, or break, the subsequent harvest. Regular laboratory analyses of soil and plant samples from various parts of the fiel…
Passage preview
For farmers, working out the optimal amount of seed, fertiliser, pesticide and water to scatter on a field can make, or break, the subsequent harvest. Regular laboratory analyses of soil and plant samples from various parts of the field can help - but such expertise is costly, and often unavailable. However, a new and cheaper method of doing this analysis is now on offer. Precise prescriptions for growing crops can be obtained quickly, and less expensively, by calculating the amount of electromagnetic radiation reflected from agricultural land. The data is collected by orbiting satellites.
Vocabulary from this passage
12 words worth learning before you sit the test, each with the sentence it appears in.
- agronomist noun
A specialist in soil management and crop production who advises on how to improve agricultural productivity
An agronomist advised the cooperative to rotate its crops more frequently.
- biomass noun
The total quantity of living plant or animal material in a given area, measured to assess productivity
Forest biomass is measured to estimate how much carbon the ecosystem stores.
- confound verb
To confuse or surprise someone, or to defeat expectations, as unusual weather patterns do to farming predictions
The unusually mild winter confounded experts who had predicted record snowfall.
- deplete verb
To reduce something seriously in quantity, so that too little remains, as soils lose their nutrients
Decades of intensive cultivation have depleted the minerals in the region's soil.
- electromagnetic radiation noun
Energy such as light or radio waves travelling in waves, which satellites measure when it is reflected from the ground
Sensors detect electromagnetic radiation that is invisible to the human eye.
- optimal adjective
Best or most favourable possible, used of the ideal quantity of inputs that gives the greatest harvest
Engineers searched for the optimal balance between cost, safety and speed.
- pinpoint verb
To identify or locate something precisely, here excessive fertiliser use in particular areas
Investigators were able to pinpoint the source of the contamination within hours.
- precision farming noun
Agriculture that uses satellite data and mapping to apply seed, fertiliser and water exactly where each part of a field needs it
Precision farming allows growers to cut fertiliser use without reducing overall yields.
- subsidiary noun
A company that is wholly or partly owned and controlled by a larger parent organisation
The airline's subsidiary handles baggage services at all of its regional airports.
- surveillance noun
Close and continuous observation of an area or situation, here by satellite, in order to gather information
Aerial surveillance helped officials track the spread of illegal logging.
- uniformly adverb
In the same way and to the same degree everywhere, without adjusting for differences between places
Treating every hectare uniformly wastes resources on land that needs little help.
- yield noun
The amount of a crop or product that is produced from a given area of land or investment
Drought cut the wheat yield by nearly a fifth last season.
Answers with explanations
- 14. C
Paragraph C provides a specific **example of how farmers** in a country (France) use satellite intelligence. It describes a co-operative called **Sevépi** that supplies field maps to its members, recommending specific **fertiliser formulas** for different colour-coded zones. This provides the exact illustrative example of determining fertiliser use requested by the question.
- 15. D
Paragraph D references climate change by discussing how **weather patterns change** and how farmers can no longer rely on the past. The text links these **new weather patterns** to unexpected **yield variations**, forcing farmers to adopt new technology. This directly constitutes a clear reference to climate change and its environmental effects.
- 16. E
Paragraph E contains a clear reference to the negative impact on soil quality resulting from excessive fertiliser application. It details how satellite imaging helps study fields with **declining productivity**, noting that an **overkill with nitrate fertilisers** is partly to blame. This directly describes the detrimental effect on the soil.
- 17. G
Paragraph G details how satellite-derived soil data from **African soils** collected in Kenya will be **passed on** to a centre in **Colombia** to create a 'Digital Soil Map'. This database will eventually provide free agricultural forecasts back to multiple countries, serving as a perfect example of sharing cross-border information.
- 18. D
Paragraph D clearly mentions the leading country in this field of agricultural technology. It explicitly states that **France is the pioneer** in satellite agricultural surveillance, clarifying that **more farmland is analysed by satellite there** than in any other nation worldwide. This matches the idea of a country being a leader.
- 19. F
Paragraph F details a technological breakthrough in satellite imagery. It introduces the **Red-Edge band**, which tracks chlorophyll variations, and explicitly states that **more research will be necessary** to fully understand its capabilities. This matches the requirement for an innovation that requires further study.
- 20. B
Paragraph B provides explicit financial and quantitative data demonstrating cost effectiveness. It contrasts the low price of the satellite service (**less than US$15 per hectare**) with the significant agricultural return, showing it **can increase yields by as much as 10%**. This serves as direct evidence of cost effectiveness.
- 21-22: BD
21: The question asks for companies that obtain data directly from satellites. The text establishes **Infoterra** as a premier agricultural data provider and a subsidiary of EADS Astrium, which deals directly with satellite infrastructure. Unlike user co-operatives like Sevépi or government agencies that merely purchase data, Infoterra operates as a primary commercial provider.
22: The question seeks companies directly sourcing information from satellites. The text explicitly identifies **RapidEye** as a **German satellite operator** that owns and commands its own satellites containing the specialized Red-Edge band. This status confirms it gathers information directly from its own space-borne sensors, distinguishing it from downstream purchasers.
- 23. electromagnetic radiation
This sentence completion requires a noun phrase. The text states that prescriptions for crops are made by calculating the amount of **electromagnetic radiation** reflected from the ground, which is **collected by orbiting satellites**. This noun phrase perfectly fits both the grammatical syntax and the meaning of the sentence.
- 24. Henri Douche
The gap requires a proper noun acting as the subject of the sentence. The passage states that **Henri Douche** 'reckons' (believes) that shifts in weather patterns will confound farmers and eventually drive higher adoption of satellite technology. The name fits grammatically and fulfills the meaning perfectly.
- 25. crop failure
The context demands a noun phrase representing an agricultural risk. According to Paragraph E, insurance firms are examining satellite records to offer policies to nations threatened by **crop failure**. The noun phrase 'crop failure' satisfies the grammatical requirement after the preposition 'of' and reflects the precise risk mentioned.
- 26. nutrients
The sentence requires a plural noun or mass noun indicating what the soil has lost. The text explains that many African soils have become **badly depleted of nutrients**. The noun 'nutrients' fits perfectly into the phrase 'loss of nutrients', satisfying both the grammatical constraint and semantic context.