cultivation

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• noun The act of cultivating.
• noun The state of being cultivated.
• noun Refinement; culture.

from The Century Dictionary.

• noun The act or practice of tilling land and preparing it for crops; the agricultural management of land; husbandry in general.
• noun Land in a cultivated state; tilled land with its crops.
• noun The act or process of producing by tillage: as, the cultivation of corn or grass.
• noun The use of a cultivator upon growing crops.
• noun The process of developing; promotion of growth or strength, physical or mental: as, the cultivation of the oyster; the cultivation of organic germs, or of animal virus; the cultivation of the mind, or of virtue, piety, etc.
• noun The state of being cultivated; specifically, a state of moral or mental advancement; culture; refinement; the union of learning and taste.
• noun Synonyms Training, Discipline, Education, etc. See instruction.— and Refinement, etc. See culture.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

• noun The art or act of cultivating; improvement for agricultural purposes or by agricultural processes; tillage; production by tillage.
• noun Bestowal of time or attention for self-improvement or for the benefit of others; fostering care.
• noun The state of being cultivated; advancement in physical, intellectual, or moral condition; refinement; culture.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• noun The art or act of cultivating; improvement of land for or by agriculture
• noun The state of being cultivated or used for agriculture
• noun Devotion of time or attention to the improvement of (something)
• noun Advancement or refinement in physical, intellectual, or moral condition

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• noun (agriculture) production of food by preparing the land to grow crops (especially on a large scale)
• noun the act of raising or growing plants (especially on a large scale)
• noun a highly developed state of perfection; having a flawless or impeccable quality
• noun socialization through training and education to develop one's mind or manners
• noun the process of fostering the growth of something