Top 10 agri­cul­ture facts

Tobacco. Green Tobacco Sickness is a type of nicotine poisoning caused by the dermal absorption of nicotine from the surface of wet tobacco plants. The symptoms include vomiting, headache and fluctuations in blood pressure and heart rate. These may be so severe as to require emergency medical treatment.

Spitsbergen permafrost. The Svalbrad Global Seed Vault (norw. Svalbrad globale frøhvelv) is located Svalbrad archipelago, at the Sptisbergen Island in Norway. It has been built to safely store seeds of edible plants from all over the world in case of any cataclism. Vault located is in the tunnel digged in the permafrost. Currently over 1.5 mln specimens are stored

Silkie. The Silkie is a breed of chicken named for its atypically fluffy plumage, which is said to feel like silk and satin. The breed has several other unusual qualities, such as black skin and bones, blue earlobes, and five toes on each foot, whereas most chickens only have four. They are often exhibited in poultry shows, and appear in various colors.

Hanging ears. "Lop rabbit" or "lop-eared rabbit" refers to domestic rabbit breeds with ears hanging down.

Chicken tractor. A chicken tractor (sometimes called an ark) is a movable chicken coop lacking a floor. Chicken tractors may also house other kinds of poultry. Most chicken tractors are a lightly built A-frame which one person can drag about the yard. It may have wheels on one or both ends to make this easier.

Ukraine. Chernozem (pictured, literally black earth) is a soil containing a high percentage of humus. It is very fertile and produces a high agricultural yield. Chernozem occurs in many places in the world, but it is the most common and the deepest in Ukraine. Throughout its history, Ukraine has been one of the powerhouses of world agriculture due to its fertile conditions.

Asparagus. Young shoots of asparagus are covered to exclude light to prevent photosynthesis and the production of chlorophyll, and thus remain pale in color and delicate in flavor and texture. This technique is called blanching.

Phoenix. The Phoenix is a German breed of long-tailed chicken. It derives from cross-breeding of imported long-tailed Japanese birds similar to the Onagadori with other breeds.

Rapeseed was the third leading source of vegetable oil in the world in 2000, after soybean and oil palm. In Europe, rapeseed is primarily cultivated for animal feed. The crop is also grown as a winter-cover crop. It provides good coverage of the soil in winter, and limits nitrogen run-off.

Lavender is grown commercially for the extraction of essential oils. It is also grown as a condiment and used in salads and dressings. There is a color named for the shade of its flowers.