ALMA MATER STUDIORUM – UNIVERSITÀ DI BOLOGNA DOTTORATO DI RICERCA / PhD PROGRAMME IN: Science, Technology, and Humanities Ciclo XXV Settore Concorsuale di afferenza: 11/C2 Settore Scientifico disciplinare: M-STO/05 Agricultural Genetics and Plant Breeding in Early Twentieth-Century Italy Keywords: [plant breeding, agricultural genetics, Italian Mendelism] PhD candidate: Iori Luca Coordinatore Dottorato Relatore Prof. Giuliano Pancaldi Prof. Giuliano Pancaldi Correlatore Prof. Sabina Leonelli Esame finale/Final exam 2013 2 To Daria, Angelo, Betti, and Marco 3 4 Table of Contents ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................................... 7 INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................................... 9 A CASUAL ENCOUNTER ................................................................................................................................................ 9 FOLLOWING FOOTSTEPS ........................................................................................................................................... 10 STRUCTURE OF THE THESIS ...................................................................................................................................... 13 WRITING THE HISTORY OF SCIENCE IN A WORLD OF MISSING DOCUMENTS: FILLING THE GAPS ................................................................................................................................................... 21 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................................... 21 1.1 ARCHIVAL SOURCES ............................................................................................................................................ 23 1.2 FROM MISSING DOCUMENTS TO MISSING ARCHIVES. .................................................................................... 27 1.3 WHY ARE THESE DOCUMENTS MISSING? ........................................................................................................ 30 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................................................... 31 NAZARENO STRAMPELLI, WHEAT BREEDER. ............................................................................... 35 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................................... 35 STRUCTURE ................................................................................................................................................................. 36 2.1 EARLY YEARS: FROM CRISPIERO TO CAMERINO. ........................................................................................... 38 2.2 RIETI: FROM THE ITINERANT CHAIR TO THE EXPERIMENTAL STATION (1903-1907). ....................... 42 2.2.1 MENDEL EXPLAINED TO FARMERS: GIUSEPPE CUBONI (1852-1920). ............................................... 44 2.2.2 A NEW HYBRIDIZATION PROGRAMME, GROWING. ..................................................................................... 45 2.2.3 FIRST RESULTS OF THE HYBRIDIZATION PROGRAMME: PUBLICATIONS. .................................................. 48 2.3 WHEAT AS A LEVER: CARLOTTA STRAMPELLI. ............................................................................................. 50 2.4 A NATIONAL INSTITUTE AND ARDITO: A PARTIAL VICTORY? ..................................................................... 54 CONCLUSION: HYBRIDS BEFORE FASCISM. ............................................................................................................. 56 PROCESSES OF PRODUCTION IN ITALIAN WHEAT BREEDING ................................................ 59 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................................... 59 STRUCTURE ................................................................................................................................................................. 60 3.1 MENDELISM AS REVOLUTION ........................................................................................................................... 62 3.2 THE BREEDER AS A BUSINESSMAN: FRANCESCO TODARO .......................................................................... 64 3.2.1 BOLOGNA’S WHEAT SELECTION PROGRAMME ........................................................................................... 65 3.2.2 TODARO AND STRAMPELLI: A SUBTLE RIVALRY. ....................................................................................... 67 3.3 VARIETAL INNOVATION PROCESSES IN ITALIAN WHEAT BREEDING. ......................................................... 68 5 3.4 FRANCESCO TODARO’S PROCESS OF PRODUCTION. ...................................................................................... 70 3.4.1 CONCEPTS IN THE PROCESS: VARIETY, SELECTION, CHANCE AND PROBLEMS. ..................................... 72 3.5 NAZARENO STRAMPELLI’S PROCESS OF PRODUCTION. ................................................................................ 74 3.5.1 CONCEPTS IN THE PROCESS/2. VARIETY, SELECTION, CHANCE AND PROBLEMS. ............................... 79 CONCLUSION: MENDELISM, TRADITION AND THE THEORETICAL SIDE OF BREEDING. .................................. 80 SOIL, SEED, CLIMATE AND WORK: HOW TO RAISE WHEAT PRODUCTION IN EARLY TWENTIETH-CENTURY ITALY. ........................................................................................................... 85 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................................... 85 STRUCTURE ................................................................................................................................................................. 86 4.1 A TENTATIVE FRAMEWORK FOR UNDERSTANDING WHEAT PRODUCTION IN EARLY TWENTIETH- CENTURY ITALY. .................................................................................................................................................. 88 4.2 FRANCESCO TODARO'S LANDRACE PURIFICATION PROGRAMME IN BOLOGNA. ...................................... 90 4.3 NAZARENO STRAMPELLI’S VARIETAL INNOVATION PROGRAMME ............................................................. 92 4.4 AGRICULTURAL ADVICE FOR LANDOWNERS: IL COLTIVATORE. ................................................................... 95 4.4.1 A JOURNEY THROUGH A JOURNAL ................................................................................................................. 96 4.4.2 TECHNICAL ADVICE FOR LANDOWNERS ...................................................................................................... 96 4.5 GIROLAMO AZZI’S AGRICULTURAL ECOLOGY. ................................................................................................ 99 CONCLUSION: EXPLORING A PLURALITY OF APPROACHES ............................................................................... 103 CENTRALIZING THE LOCAL: ITALIAN VERSUS EUROPEAN PLANT BREEDERS. .............. 105 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................................ 105 STRUCTURE .............................................................................................................................................................. 106 5.1 OBSTACLES ........................................................................................................................................................ 108 5.2 MENDELIAN AND PRE-MENDELIAN WHEAT HYBRIDS IN ITALY .............................................................. 110 5.3 THE DOUBLE FUNCTION OF MENDELISM IN ITALY .................................................................................... 114 5.4 STRATEGIES: CENTRALIZATION VERSUS DECENTRALIZATION ................................................................ 117 5.4.1 UK SYSTEM BUILDERS AND THEIR NEED FOR CONTROL ....................................................................... 118 5.5 CENTRALIZATION AND DECENTRALIZATION IN ITALY .............................................................................. 119 CONCLUSION: BREEDERS AND THEIR LEGACY. ................................................................................................... 122 CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................................................... 127 FUTURE DIRECTIONS .............................................................................................................................................. 129 APPENDIX ............................................................................................................................................... 132 STRAMPELLI’S PRIVATE ARCHIVE (APS) ............................................................................................................ 132 BIBLIOGRAPHY .................................................................................................................................... 138 6 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Many years ago I read a poem by Jorge Luis Borges that began with these verses: