YDS 2016-1 Soru=25

Thousands of years ago, agriculture began as a highly
site-specific activity. The first farmers were gardeners
who grew individual plants, and they (22)---- the
microclimates and patches of soil that favoured those
plants. But as farmers acquired scientific knowledge and
mechanical expertise, they enlarged their plots using
standardized approaches (23)---- ploughing the soil
and spreading animal manure as fertilizer to increase
crop production. (24)---- the years, they developed better
methods of preparing the soil and protecting plants from
insects, and eventually, machines to reduce the labor
required. (25)---- in the 19th century, scientists invented
chemical pesticides and used newly discovered genetic
principles to select for more productive plants. (26)----
these methods maximized overall productivity, they
caused some areas within fields to underperform