Plant Nutrition in the Roman empire

Abstract

AbstractThis article presents various techniques for plant nutrition in the ancient world, namely ancient Rome. It discusses the attempts of Roman farmers to ameliorate their soil by ways of spreading manure, green manuring, and applying mineral fertilizers and other materials thought of as improving the soil. The relevant information is taken mainly from Roman literary texts that pose their own difficulties to the reader being, above all, highly stylized products of art rather than practical handbooks. Such information can nevertheless be contrasted with recent observations on the effectiveness of these methods. It is shown that ancient knowledge contributed considerably to developing a remarkably successful—if somewhat flawed with respect to scientific details—strategy of improving annual yields and thus supporting the Roman urban culture and demographic stability, with a general level of nutrition reached in Europe and North America only after World War II.