Zadoks Crop protection in medieval agriculture Crop protection Mediterranean and West European pre-modern agriculture (agriculture before 1600) was by necessity ‘organic agriculture’. Crop protection is part and parcel of this agriculture, with weed in medieval agriculture control in the forefront. Crop protection in medieval agriculture Crop protection is embedded in the medieval agronomy text books but specialised sections studies in pre-modern organic agriculture do occur. Weeds, insects and diseases are described but identification in modern terms is not easy. The pre-modern ‘Crop Portfolio’ is well filled, certainly in the Mediterranean area. The medieval ‘Pest Portfolio’ differs from the modern one because agriculture then was a Low External Input Agriculture, and because the proportion of cultivated to non-cultivated land was drastically lower than today. The pre-modern ‘Control Portfolio’ is surprisingly rich, both in preventive and interventive measures. Prevention was by risk management, intensive tillage, and careful storage. Intervention was mechanical and chemical. Chemical intervention used natural substances such as sulphur, pitch, and ‘botanicals’. Some fifty plant species are mentioned in a crop protection context. Though application methods look rather modern they are typically low-tech. Among them are seed disinfection, spraying, dusting, fumigation, grease banding, wound care, and hand- picking but also scarification, now outdated. The reality of pest outbreaks and other damages is explored as to frequency, intensity, and extent. Information on the practical use of the recommended treatments is scanty. If applied, their effectiveness remains enigmatic. Three medieval agronomists are at the heart of this book, but historical developments in crop protection from early Punic, Greek, and Roman authors to the first modern author are outlined. The readership of these writers was the privileged class of landowners but hints pointing to the exchange of ideas between them and the common peasant were found. Consideration is given to the pre-modern reasoning in matters of crop protection. Comparison of pre-modern crop protection and its counterpart in modern organic agriculture is difficult because of drastic changes in the relation between crop areas and non-crop areas, and because of the great difference in yield levels then and now, with several associated differences. Jan C. Zadoks (Amsterdam, 1929) was professor of ecological plant pathology, Wageningen Agricultural University, the Netherlands. Sidestone ISBNSidestone 978-90-8890-187-4 Press ISBN: 978-90-8890-187-4 Jan C. Zadoks 9 789088 901874 This is an Open Access publication. Visit our website for more OA publication, to read any of our books for free online, or to buy them in print or PDF. www.sidestone.com Check out some of our latest publications: Crop protection in medieval agriculture Sidestone Press Crop protection in medieval agriculture studies in pre-modern organic agriculture Jan C. Zadoks © 2013 J.C. Zadoks Published by Sidestone Press, Leiden www.sidestone.com ISBN 978-90-8890-187-4 Photograph cover: July in a Psalter from N France, c. 1180, National Library of the Netherlands, The Hague: ms 76 F 13, p 7v. Lay-out & Cover design: Sidestone Press Contents 1 Introduction, pre-modern crop protection 11 1.1 Why this book? 11 1.2 The period of interest 14 1.3 Crop protection – a special issue? 14 1.4 The approach 16 2 Books and authors 19 2.1 A body of literature 19 2.2 Traditions in agronomy 20 2.2.1 The Graeco-Roman tradition 20 2.2.2 The Near-Eastern tradition 20 2.2.3 Cross-links between East and West 20 2.2.4 A medieval tradition 21 2.3 Three medieval authors 22 2.3.1 Selected authors 22 2.3.2 Anonymus – c.950 CE – ‘Geoponika’ 22 2.3.3 Ibn al-‛Awwām – c.1200 – ‘Book on Agriculture’ 23 2.3.4 Pietro Crescenzi – c.1306 – ‘On common agriculture’ 24 2.4 Predecessors 27 2.4.1 Selected authors 27 2.4.2 Hesiod – c.750 BCE – ‘Days and works’ 27 2.4.3 Theophrastus – c.300 BCE – ‘Enquiry into plants’ and ‘On the causes of plants’ 28 2.4.4 The Roman agronomists – c.100 BCE - c.400 CE – ‘On agriculture’ 28 2.4.5 Vindonius Anatolius and Cassius Bassus – 4th to 6th century CE 29 2.4.6 Ibn Waḥshiyya – c.900 CE – ‘Nabatean agriculture’ 30 2.5 Contemporaries 31 2.5.1 Selected authors 31 2.5.2 Three Andalusian authors 31 2.5.3 Walter of Henley – c.1286 – ‘Husbandry’ 32 2.5.4 Albertus Magnus – c.1200-1280 – ‘On plants’ 32 2.5.5 Ibn Luyūn – 1348 – ‘Book on agriculture’ 33 2.6 Successors 33 2.6.1 Selected authors 33 2.6.2 Gabriel de Herrera – 1513 – ‘Treatise on agriculture’ 34 2.6.3 Olivier de Serres – 1600 – ‘Theatre of agriculture’ 34 2.6.4 Miguel Agustín – 1617 – the ‘Book of the Prior’ 35 2.7 Fantasy and reality 35 2.8 The audience 36 3 Pre-modern agriculture 39 3.1 Geography and climate 39 3.1.1 Geography, two scenes 39 3.1.2 Climates 40 3.1.3 Landscapes 41 3.2 Farms and farming systems 42 3.2.1 Pre-modern farming 42 3.2.2 Farm and field sizes 43 3.3 Crops and cropping systems 44 3.3.1 Crops 44 3.3.2 Planted crops 45 3.3.3 Sown crops - Cereals 48 3.3.4 Sown crops - Legumes 51 3.3.5 Sown crops - Vegetables, herbs, ornamentals 53 3.4 Crop selection and plant improvement 53 3.4.1 Crop selection 53 3.4.2 Varieties 54 3.4.3 Seed selection 54 3.4.4 Exchange of seeds and planting stock 55 3.4.5 Genetics 55 3.4.6 Transmutation 56 3.5 Environment 57 3.5.1 The abiotic environment – weather 57 3.5.2 The abiotic environment – soils 58 3.5.3 The biotic environment – ecosystem services 59 3.5.4 The phases of the moon 61 3.6 Crop management 63 3.6.1 Soil tillage - Digging 63 3.6.2 Soil tillage - Ploughing and harrowing 64 3.6.3 Fallowing and crop rotation 68 3.6.4 Sowing and planting 69 3.6.5 Irrigation and drainage 70 3.7 Harvesting, storing, processing 72 3.7.1 The harvest 72 3.7.2 The threshing floor 74 3.7.3 Storage 75 3.7.4 Yields 78 4 Harmful agents 81 4.1 Production constraints 81 4.1.1 Human constraints 81 4.1.2 Abiotic constraints 83 4.1.3 Biotic constraints 84 4.2 Mammals 85 4.2.1 Cattle 85 4.2.2 Wild boars and domestic swine 86 4.2.3 Foxes 86 4.2.4 Rabbits and hares 86 4.2.5 Voles (field mice) 87 4.2.6 Mice 88 4.2.7 Rats 88 4.2.8 Moles and mole rats 89 4.2.9 Large red mice (?) 89 4.3 Birds and reptiles 90 4.3.1 Which birds? 90 4.3.2 Bird damage at sowing time 90 4.3.3 Bird damage at harvest time 91 4.3.4 Reptiles 92 4.4 Insects 92 4.4.1 Locusts 92 4.4.2 Grasshoppers 95 4.4.3 Mole-cricket 95 4.4.4 Ants 96 4.4.5 ‘Fleas’ 99 4.4.6 Grain weevils 99 4.4.7 Other insects 100 4.4.8 Other invertebrates 104 4.5 Plants 104 4.5.1 Weeds 104 4.5.2 Parasitic plants 109 4.6 Deficiencies and excesses 112 4.6.1 Deficiencies 112 4.6.2 Excesses 112 4.6.3 Patchiness 114 4.7 Pathogens 114 4.8 Adverse effects of weather 117 5 Pre-modern crop protection methods 121 5.1 What is to be expected? 121 5.2 Irrational and metaphysical methods 123 5.2.1 Fantastication 123 5.2.2 Magic, contract, intimidation 123 5.2.3 Anathema 125 5.2.4 Prayer 126 5.3 Cultural methods 126 5.3.1 Risk management 126 5.3.2 Prevention 127 5.3.3 Abiotic damaging agents 128 5.3.4 Weed control 131 5.3.5 Mixed cropping 135 5.3.6 Antagonism and mutualism 138 5.3.7 Soil fatigue 140 5.3.8 Biological control 141 5.4 Traps and baits 142 5.4.1 Trap crops (companion plants) 142 5.4.2 Traps 142 5.4.3 Plasters and grease bands 142 5.4.4 Baits 143 5.5 Treatments 144 5.5.1 Kinds of treatments 144 5.5.2 Hand picking 144 5.5.3 Seed treatment 145 5.5.4 Disinfection 147 5.5.5 Sprays 148 5.5.6 Repellents 149 5.5.7 Dusts 149 5.5.8 Fumigation 150 5.5.9 Fire and heat treatment 151 5.6 Curative action 152 5.6.1 Scarification 152 5.6.2 Cures 153 5.7 The ‘House-leek’ riddle 155 6 Natural products for pre-modern crop protection 157 6.1 Natural products 157 6.2 Non-plant substances 158 6.3 Botanicals - generalities 164 6.4 Botanicals - specifics 166 6.4.1 Sources of information 166 6.4.2 Botanicals by species 166 6.4.3 Botanicals disregarded 187 6.4.4 Some classes of bio-active molecules 187 6.5 Other plant substances 188 6.6 A personal evaluation 190 7 Pre-modern crop protection lore 193 7.1 Pre-modern agriculture and crop protection 193 7.1.1 Plant health 193 7.1.2 Crop protection singled out 194 7.1.3 The Crop Portfolio 197 7.1.4 The Pest Portfolio 197 7.1.5 The Control Portfolio 198 7.2 Revelation, experience, experiment 199 7.2.1 Revelation 199 7.2.2 Experience 199 7.2.3 Experiment 201 7.2.4 Scientific writing 202 7.2.5 Herb knowledge 203 7.2.6 The rationality of pre-modern crop protection 203 7.2.7 Agriculture, craft or science? 205 7.2.8 The scientific status of pre-modern knowledge 206 7.3 Behaviour 206 7.3.1 Money, the bottom line 206 7.3.2 Mulier menstrualis - The power of women 207 7.3.3 Religion 208 7.3.4 ‘Thou shalt not kill’ 208 7.3.5 Good conduct 209 7.4 Developments 210 7.4.1 The Greek heritage 210 7.4.2 The Roman heritage 211 7.4.3 The Muslim heritage 212 7.4.4 Evolution or revolution? 213 7.4.5 The North-West European development 214 7.5 Change and continuity 214 7.5.1 Change 214 7.5.2 Continuity 215 8 Once upon a time - organic agriculture 217 8.1 ‘All that we need’ 217 8.2 Crop protection at a distance 218 8.2.1 The pest tetrahedron 218 8.2.2 Matters of scale 219 8.2.3 Man and his interactions 219 8.3 Theoretical considerations 220 8.3.1 A ‘theory of yield’ 220 8.3.2 A ‘theory of loss’ 222 8.3.3 Pre-modern farming reconstructed? 222 8.3.4 Old and modern organic agriculture – a comparison 223 8.4 Real-life experiences 224 8.4.1 Reality of abiotic hazards 224 8.4.2 Reality of pest outbreaks in pre-modern times 226 8.4.3 Reality