ºthe Principles of Rational Agricultureº by Albrecht Daniel Thaer (1752±1828)
J. Plant Nutr. Soil Sci. 2003, 166, 687±698 DOI: 10.1002/jpln.200321233 687 ºThe principles of rational agricultureº by Albrecht Daniel Thaer (1752±1828). An approach to the sustainability of cropping systems at the beginning of the 19th century Christian L. Feller1*, Laurent J.-M. Thuris1,2, Raphal J. Manlay1, Paul Robin3, and Emmanuel Frossard4 1 Institut de Recherche pour le DØveloppement (IRD), Laboratory MOST (Organic Matter in Tropical Soils), BP 64501, F-34394 Montpellier Cedex 5, France 2 Phalippou-Frayssinet SA, Organic Fertilizers, La Mothe, F-81240 Rouairoux, France 3 Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), UMR 1123-System, Cirad-Lavalette, TA 179/01, F-34395 Montpellier Cedex 5, France 4 Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich), Institute of Plant Sciences, Group of plant nutrition, P.O. Box, Eschikon 33, CH-8315 Lindau, Switzerland Accepted 13 October 2003 Summary ± Zusammenfassung The identification of quantitative fertility indicators for evaluatingthe sustainability of croppingand farmingsystems has become a major issue . This question has been extensively studied by the German agronomist Albrecht Daniel Thaer at the beginning of the 19h century. In this paper Thaer's work is set in its historical background, from the end of the 16th century (Palissy, 1580) to the middle of the 19th century (Liebig, 1840). Then the paper focuses on Thaer's quantitative and complex fertility scale (expressed in ªfertility degreesº), which was based on soil properties, on the requirement of nutrients by plants, and on the croppingsystem (includingcrop rotation). Thaer expressed soil fertility and economic results as a function of rye production in ªscheffel of rye per journalº (ca.
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