Question

Agricultural revolution first occurred in _________.
A- England
B- France
C- USA
D- India

Answer 1

Hint
Between the mid-$17^{th}$ and late $19^{th}$ centuries, the Agricultural Revolution was the unprecedented rise in agricultural production in Britain due to increases in labour and land productivity. Historians continue to dispute, however, whether the developments leading to unprecedented agricultural growth can be seen as a revolution," as growth was in fact, the result of a series of major changes over a long period of time.

Complete answer:
The development of the Norfolk four-course rotation, which greatly increased crop and livestock yields by improving soil fertility and reducing fallow, was one of the most significant innovations of the Agricultural Revolution. Crop rotation is the practice of sequential seasons of growing a series of different types of crops in the same area to help restore plant nutrients and mitigate the accumulation of pathogens and pests that often occur when one plant species is continuously cultivated.

The frequent planting of legumes such as peas and beans in fields that were previously fallow became central and slowly restored the fertility of some croplands, adopting a two-field crop rotation method typical in the Middle Ages and a three-year three-field crop rotation routine used later. Finally, it was the farmers in Flanders (in parts of France and Belgium today) who discovered an even more productive four-field rotation method for crops, using turnips and clover (a legume) as forage crops to supplement the three-year fallow year rotation of crops. The four-field rotation system allowed farmers to restore soil fertility and restore some of the plant nutrients removed with the crops. Fallow land was about 20% of the arable area in England in 1700 before turnips and clover were extensively grown. Guano and nitrates from South America were introduced in the mid-$19^{th}$ century and fallow steadily declined to reach only about 4% in 1900.

Two British farmers, Robert Bakewell and Thomas Coke introduced selective breeding as a scientific method in the mid-$18^{th}$ century and used it in breeding to stabilize certain characteristics to decrease genetic diversity. Also, Bakewell was the first to raise cattle specifically used for beef.

Some activities have increased, such as turning some pasture land into arable land and recovering fenland and pastures, leading to more productive use of land. Flanders and the Netherlands, the area that became a pioneer in canal design, soil conservation and preservation, soil drainage, and technology for land reclamation, were other innovations. Finally, water-meadows were used in the late 16th to $20^{th}$ centuries and after wintering on hay, permitted earlier pasturing of livestock.

Therefore the correct answer is A

Note
The agricultural revolution in France began in the $18^{th}$ century.
The agricultural revolution in France began in the $19^{th}$ century.
The agricultural revolution in France began in the $20^{th}$ century.