Agricultural History Research Articles

Academician I.D. Kovalchenko: the study of the agrarian history of Russia

Academician I.D. Kovalchenko: the study of the agrarian history of Russia

Chemical processes and sustainability of rice-shrimp farming on saline acid sulfate soils in mekong delta

In the history of rice-shrimp farming (RSF) in the Mekong Delta, in saline acid sulfate soils (ASS), RSF has proved its sustainability as there is no long-term accumulation of acidity and salinity that adversely affect RSF production. However, the soil processes involved in this phenomenon are not well understood. This study aimed to determine the significant changes in soil and water chemical indicators associated with soil processes during different stages of RSF. Sampling was conducted in six stages to determine the pH and electrical conductivity (EC) of canal and field water, and the pHe, ECe, and sodium-soluble saturated extract (Na-sol) of surface soil (surS) and subsurface soil (subS) in the low-salinity area (LSA) and high salinity area (HSA) of Bac Lieu province. Putative exchange (exch.) Na+ hydrolysis occurs at the beginning of the rainy season when excess salts are leached. This drastically increases the pH of the field water by 0.6 pH units, from 8.2 to 8.8 in stages 1 to 2, respectively. Putative sulfurization has been shown to occur in subS in both LSAs and HSAs, with a significant decrease of 0.5 pH units from stages 4 to 5, leading to a decrease in the Na-sol of subS through exch. Na+ transformation. Simultaneously, with active soil preparation and liming for RSF, chemical processes such as exch. Na+ hydrolysis, sulfurization, and Na+ transformation are the main factors promoting exch. Na+ desorption, which help to reduce the long-term build-up of salinity and acidity that adversely affect RSF production. Although gypsum is considered an effective material in improving saline soils, in Vietnam, gypsum is the liming material of CaSO4; however, it is not commonly used in agriculture because of its high cost. By using CaCO3 or dolomite as a liming material in saline ASS, the dissolution of lime by sulfuric acid can provide a good opportunity for soil improvement and rice growth in RSF.

Past and Future Epidemiological Perspectives and Integrated Management of Rice Bakanae in Korea

In the past, rice bakanae was considered an endemic disease that did not cause significant losses in Korea; however, the disease has recently become a serious threat due to climate change, changes in farming practices, and the emergence of fungicide-resistant strains. Since the bakanae outbreak in 2006, its incidence has gradually decreased due to the application of effective control measures such as hot water immersion methods and seed disinfectants. However, in 2013, a marked increase in bakanae incidence was observed, causing problems for rice farmers. Therefore, in this review, we present the potential risks from climate change based on an epidemiological understanding of the pathogen, host plant, and environment, which are the key elements influencing the incidence of bakanae. In addition, disease management options to reduce the disease pressure of bakanae below the economic threshold level are investigated, with a specific focus on resistant varieties, as well as chemical, biological, cultural, and physical control methods. Lastly, as more effective countermeasures to bakanae, we propose an integrated disease management option that combines different control methods, including advanced imaging technologies such as remote sensing. In this review, we revisit and examine bakanae, a traditional seed-borne fungal disease that has not gained considerable attention in the agricultural history of Korea. Based on the understanding of the present significance and anticipated risks of the disease, the findings of this study are expected to provide useful information for the establishment of an effective response strategy to bakanae in the era of climate change.

The legacy of intensive agricultural history on the soil health of (sub)tropical landscapes

Soil health conceptualized as a measurable ecosystem property provides a powerful tool for monitoring progress in restoration projects or implementation of best management practices to improve degraded lands and promote sustainable agroecosystems. We surveyed soils collected from a range of land uses (i.e., protected native and non-native forest, managed pasture, unmanaged previously intensive agricultural lands, organic cropland, and conventional cropland) across a range of soil orders (Oxisol, Mollisol, Andisol, Inceptisol, and Vertisol) on three Hawaiian Islands. Forty-six soil health indicators encompassing biological, chemical, and physical properties were measured. In this multivariate survey, the most distinct group was the unmanaged, previously intensive agriculture lands, which was significantly different from all other land uses even when considering differences in mineralogy. Importantly, the soil health indicators of well-managed pastures in Hawaiʻi were not different from protected forests, suggesting that well-managed grazing lands may be as healthy and resilient as protected forests. A suite of 11 readily measured indicators emerged out of a first-principle approach to determining a holistic indication of soil health across a range of soils and systems in Hawaiʻi encompassing much of the diversity in the tropics and subtropics. Every land use may improve its soil health status within a reasonable range of expectations for a soil’s land use history, current land use, and mineralogy. Key drivers of inherent differences in the soil health indicators, including intensive land use history, current land use practices, and mineralogy, must be interwoven into the soil health index, which should set minimum and maximum benchmarks and weight indicators according to equitable standards.

Stressors, Barriers and Facilitators Faced by Australian Farmers When Transitioning to Retirement: A Scoping Review.

Farms in Australia are largely family owned and managed. Complex interactions between farming history, traditions, family, business, succession, identity and place can lead to difficulties in planning for retirement for farmers. Due to the significant implications of this for farmers' health and wellbeing, there is a clear need to determine how farmers may be best supported through the work-to-retirement transition. This scoping review summarises the literature on Australian farmers' retirement experiences and the stressors they face during this transition. Barriers and facilitators that may hinder or help farmers were also explored. The relevant peer-reviewed literature was identified through database searching and the grey literature was collected via a web-based search. Seven studies were included in the review. Poor health and diminishing capacity to work was identified as a key stressor related to retirement. Other drivers of stress (i.e., pressure to live up to farming ideals, perceiving retirement as a threat to self-identity and financial concerns) overlapped with barriers to retirement. Farmers identified gradual transition, strong social networks, variety in interests and activities and early financial and succession planning as key facilitators of retirement. Findings will help inform the development of interventions to assist Australian farmers through this challenging stage of their lives.

The Importance of Becoming Tamed: Wild Food Plants as Possible Novel Crops in Selected Food-Insecure Regions

Domestication of new plants is one of the key (ongoing) phenomena in the history of agriculture. Wild plants are the ancestors of current and future crops and the largest reservoir of genetic diversity for crop breeding and improvement. Wild food species have been used for human nutrition since ancient times and are often the object of human strategies for coping with emergency situations, such as natural disasters and conflicts. We analyzed qualitative data collected through ethnobotanical field studies conducted in recent years in five selected Eurasian regions (Afghanistan, Kurdistan region of Iraq, Pakistan, Syria, and Ukraine) that have been recently affected by wars and/or socio-political turbulence. Data were collected through participant observation and semi-structured interviews with local people. We identified five taxa for each region, which are culturally very salient in the local food systems, that retain an important economic value in local markets, and that, therefore, could be good candidates for becoming novel crops. The cultivation of the reported species may significantly help local communities in their post-war livelihoods and especially in terms of food security and domestic nutritional care. Future studies should focus on the agronomic feasibility of the highlighted species within their regional ecosystems.

Variability in feeding habitats of red deer sensu lato in Eurasia in the Late Pleistocene and Holocene

Red deer (Cervus elaphus) is one of the species that is rather wide spread and survived across Europe over the Holocene. The analyses of carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes in bone collagen of ungulate remains have been applied in paleoecological studies as environmental and dietary indicators. In this study we present the carbon and nitrogen stable isotope compositions of previously radiocarbon-dated red deer bone samples (N = 68) found in Central, Southern and Eastern Europe and Asia and aligned to one of two species: European red deer (Cervus elaphus) and wapiti (Cervus canadensis). We showed that the values of carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios of European red deer and wapiti overlapped. Among all analysed independent factors (determined for the locality and time period relevant for each of the analysed samples), the variability of δ13C values in European red deer dated to the Holocene is best explained by forest cover and mean July temperature, and variability of δ15N values by the mean July temperature, annual precipitation and altitude. Additionally, combining the results of the present study with isotopic data on European red deer collected from published sources, we revealed that the values of δ13C and of δ15N in C. elaphus bones changed according to environmental oscillations that took place in Europe over the last 50 000 years. We concluded that red deer shifted their feeding habitats in relation to changing environmental conditions, for example, forest expansion during the climate warming, and in the mid to later Holocene in response to deforestation caused by human activity and the spread of agriculture. We also found out that red deer reacted in varied ways to changing local conditions in different regions of Europe. Modern individuals of C. elaphus had the lowest δ13C values among all analysed specimens, so they probably inhabited the most densely forested areas in comparison to other European red deer populations during the last 50 000 years.

Genomic perspectives on human dispersals during the Holocene

Nearly 20 y ago, Jared Diamond and Peter Bellwood reviewed the evidence for the associated spread of farming and large language families by the demographic expansions of farmers. Since then, advances in obtaining and analyzing genomic data from modern and ancient populations have transformed our knowledge of human dispersals during the Holocene. Here, we provide an overview of Holocene dispersals in the light of genomic evidence and conclude that they have a complex history. Even when there is a demonstrated connection between a demographic expansion of people, the spread of agriculture, and the spread of a particular language family, the outcome in the results of contact between expanding and resident groups is highly variable. Further research is needed to identify the factors and social circumstances that have influenced this variation and complex history.

Indigenous knowledge in traditional production of rice: Impact on food security in the upland households in Ifugao, Philippines

Indigenous knowledge is essential to the survival of highland farming across the world. In the Philippines, the Ifugao indigenous people have a long history of rice farming which is intertwined with their indigenous knowledge and cultural identity, particularly the Ifugao Rice Terraces (IRT). Their traditional practices of rice production entails the use of indigenous knowledge. The investigation included a number of conventional processes, ranging from land preparation through harvesting and even the planting season. It is clear that Ifugaos continue to grow native rice in the region in the customary manner. It is noteworthy because Ifugao is having food security challenges, thus 82 percent of people believe that there is a high risk of food insecurity, and 70.20 percent believe that rice output is insufficient based on yearly rice production. 51.2 percent felt that even though there is food insecurity, they would not go hungry.

Adapting to the Land: A History of Agriculture in Colorado. By John F. Freeman and Mark E. Uchanski

Adapting to the Land: A History of Agriculture in Colorado. By John F. Freeman and Mark E. Uchanski

Analysis of tail morphology and osteology in Ethiopian indigenous sheep

Sheep adaptive diversity, including tail morphology, has been shaped by various factors, including natural and/or artificial selection for different traits. The Horn of Africa has historically been a major livestock entry point on the African continent from the Near Eastern centers of initial domestication. Ethiopia, in particular, possesses a marked sheep diversity, including the presence of breeds with four distinct tail morphotypes (short fat-tail, long fat-tail, fat-rump, and thin-tail) that do not co-exist elsewhere. The origin and development of the fat-tail, as well as the fat-rump, are still poorly known, and the osteological and metrical differences between the fat-tail morphotypes have never been studied. Here, we characterized the phenotypic diversity of Ethiopian sheep tails from morphological and osteological perspectives. Three tail measurements and 14 osteological traits were recorded in six breeds (Menz, Washera, Afar, Blackhead Somali, Bonga, and Gumz), representative of the four sheep tail morphotypes. Both linear discriminant and principal component analyses categorize the six sheep breeds into four distinct tail morphotypes. Analysis of variance of the morphological and osteological traits shows significant differences (P < 0.05) between the four tail morphotypes. The highest mean values of tail length, total caudal vertebrae length and the number of caudal vertebrae were recorded in the thin-tailed sheep, followed by the long fat-tailed sheep, whereas the lowest average values were recorded in the fat-rumped and short fat-tailed sheep. These traits are significantly and positively correlated with each other. Based on regression model analysis, it is possible to use tail length alone as a predictive tool to estimate the sheep tail osteology without killing the animal. Moreover, based on measurements of sheep caudal vertebrae, the osteologist can estimate other osteological traits and the tail length of that sheep, further differentiating its tail morphotypes. Significant differences (P < 0.05) were also observed in individual caudal vertebra length and breadth, tail breadth and tail circumference, and flat and concave-shaped caudal vertebrae between the short-tailed and long-tailed sheep. Our results provide important phenotypic baselines for genome diversity and adaptation studies and an osteological baseline for archeozoological work aiming to understand the history of sheep farming and breed development in past societies.

Karst of Gunung Sewu Land Use and Land Covers Dynamics: Spatio-Temporal Analysis

A study of karst land use and land cover dynamics is critical for managing karst areas, which provide many pivotal services for people. This study aims to study such dynamics, especially in relation to the karst of Gunung Sewu, due to its development as a new emerging sector. Using a mixed methods approach, the study combines spatial data analysis with qualitative analysis. Spatial analysis was performed to examine the dynamic of the land cover derived from 2013 and 2021 Landsat 8 imagery, analyzed with the Google Earth Engine tool, together with analysis of spatial patterns using Global Moran’s I and LISA. The spatial analysis results were complemented by a qualitative analysis of the environmental history and development trends, as an explanatory method. The land cover analysis reveals a conversion from vegetation to agriculture, while the spatial pattern analysis shows that such conversion has mostly taken place in the northern part of the study area of Wonosari Basin. The environmental history of teak forest exploitation and agriculture is key to understanding current land use related to the emerging tourism sector, which is fundamental to the region. To manage the negative impacts, sustainable land use with a firm policy framework urgently needs to be implemented.

Can growth in captivity alter the calcaneal microanatomy of a wild ungulate?

Reduced mobility associated with captivity induces changes in biomechanical stress on the skeleton of domesticated animals. Due to bone plasticity, bone’s morphology and internal structure can respond to these new biomechanical stresses over individuals’ lifetime. In a context where documenting early process of animal domestication is challenging, this study will test the hypothesis that change in mobility patterns during a wild ungulate’s life will alter the internal structure of its limb bones and provide a proof of concept for the application of this knowledge in Zooarchaeology. Using the calcaneus as a phenotypic marker through qualitative and quantitative 3D microanatomical analyses, we relied on a comparative study across wild boars (Sus scrofa) populations from controlled experimental conditions with different mobility patterns (natural habitat, large pen, and stall) and archaeological specimens collected from middle and late Mesolithic as surrogate for the norm of reaction in European wild boar phenotype before the spread of agriculture and domestic pigs. Results provide evidence for compressive and tensile forces as the main elements affecting the variation in the cortical thickness along the calcaneus. Furthermore, changes in the internal structure of the calcaneus between mobility patterns are observed but their intensity is not directly associated with the degree of mobility restriction and only weakly impacted by the size or weight of the individuals. Despite having greater bone volume, the calcaneus of the Mesolithic wild boars displays a very similar microanatomy compared to the present-day hunted or captive wild boars. These results suggest that calcaneal microanatomy is more affected by population differences than by locomotor variation. For all these reasons, this preliminary study doesn’t support the use of microanatomy of the calcaneus as an indicator of change in locomotor behaviour induced by captivity in the archaeological record.

The Promise of an Evolutionary Perspective of Alcohol Consumption

The urgent need for medical treatments of alcohol use disorders has motivated the search for novel molecular targets of alcohol response. Most studies exploit the strengths of lab animals without considering how these and other species may have adapted to respond to alcohol in an ecological context. Here, we provide an evolutionary perspective on the molecular and genetic underpinnings of alcohol consumption by reviewing evidence that alcohol metabolic enzymes have undergone adaptive evolution at 2 evolutionary junctures: first, to enable alcohol consumption accompanying the advent of a frugivorous diet in a primate ancestor, and second, to decrease the likelihood of excessive alcohol consumption concurrent with the spread of agriculture and fermentation in East Asia. By similarly considering how diverse vertebrate and invertebrate species have undergone natural selection for alcohol responses, novel conserved molecular targets of alcohol are likely be discovered that may represent promising therapeutic targets.

Uncovering the local foodscapes. Exploring the Etna volcano case study, Italy

&lt;abstract&gt; &lt;p&gt;The Etna natural and agricultural landscape, located on the island of Sicily in Italy, is known for its stunning views and unique geology. It is also home to a diverse array of plant and animal life, as well as a rich cultural and agricultural history and quality products. Using GIS (Geographic Information System) analysis, it is possible to quantify and evaluate the value of this landscape, providing a better understanding of the value that the Etna landscape provides to the surrounding region. The study highlights the landscape transformations of Etna over the last years to ensure market integration and support sustainable resource management strategies regarding local cultural heritage and environmental sustainability. Detailed knowledge of landscape dynamics is crucial for many applications, from resource management to governance services assessments.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/abstract&gt;

Norwegian Baking on the Prairie, 1851–1859: The Transition to Wheat Flour and Leavened Bread Seen Through the Letters, Diary Entries, and Recipes of Linka Preus, Elisabeth Koren, and Caja Munch

Abstract: This article critically examines previously unpublished recipes from the hand-written notebooks of Elisabeth Koren and Linka Preus, putting them in context with their published letters and diary entries and the letters of their contemporary Caja Munch, in order to show how Norwegian women transitioned to baking with fine wheat flour and yeast in America during the 1850s. Such baking was little known to women even of the upper class in Norway at a time when wheat was used only on the rarest occasions. Between the three women they record five recipes for yeast, attributing them to Norwegian immigrants of both high and low classes, showing how the struggle with yeasted baking affected diverse women on the prairie. At a critical inflection point in Norwegian culinary and agricultural history, when Norway was at its peak in domestic grain agriculture and had yet to significantly import inexpensive wheat and rye, these three immigrants show how they reinterpreted a staple of their diet to the ingredients and technology available to them in the New World. The challenges they encountered and the innovations they discovered anticipated major changes that would come just a couple of decades later in their home land.

Population-Genetic History of China in the Context of the East Asian Population History

The territory of modern China was a zone of active population transformations from the time of its occupation by human species. There was the formation zone of the progenitors of all Mongoloid populations associated with the eastern trunk of non-Africans. The most ancient group is associated with the population of Tianyuan cave (田園洞). The basal steam split, after Tianyuan branch separation into two clusters of southern and northern populations. The north groups formed a gene pool base for the modern population of the northern half of China, Japan, Korea, as well as Mongolia, Siberia, and America. The southern groups formed a gene pool core for the population of Indochina, Indonesia, eastern Oceania. From the beginning of the Neolithic era, two-way interaction begins between both groups. During the agricultural spread, people from the region of the upper Yellow River actively settled in Tibet, the southwestern provinces of China, the lower reaches of the Yellow River, forming the basis of the gene pool of modern Tibetans, other Tibetan-Burmans and progenitors of the Han. Also, the migrants from the valley of Yellow River influence the population of the western Liao River, associated with another subgroup of the northern Mongoloid cluster. And the basin of this river, this population inhabits the Korean Peninsula, and from there to the Japanese archipelago. In historical time, especially in the Jin, Tang and Song eras, the penetration of northerners south of the Yellow River intensified. It absorbs local groups and affects the gene pools of local Sino-Tibetan and Hmong-Mien groups that have escaped assimilation. At the same time, the southern groups of Han Chinese also receive a noticeable admixture from the southern Mongoloid groups of the southern cluster. The arrival of the Han Chinese probably causes the outflow of part of the Tibeto-Burman groups to northeast India. The invasions of the steppe nomads did not change the gene pool of China. On the contrary, the resettlement of Han farmers in the steppe left a noticeable admixture in the population of Mongolia from the Xiongnu era to the present. Thus, the population of China since ancient times has not only a turbulent internal population history but had been influencing since the earliest epochs to rest of the population of the Inhabited parts of the World like Siberia, both Americas, India, South-East Asia and Oceania.

Secondary salinization of soils and ways to prevent downstream of the Amu Darya

In the history of irrigated agriculture there are many cases when due to severe soil salinity the yield was so low that it did not justify the costs incurred for cultivation of crops. Such lands were classified as unsuitable and were left without use for crops. Lands from suitable ones turned into unsuitable ones and were also often left out of use for irrigated crops, thus, among the old irrigated land masses there were many fallow lands, fallow fields and other vacant lands. The growth of salinity of irrigated soils in the Central Asian republics in the last 30-35 years has become almost ubiquitous. Both old and new irrigation systems bear heavy losses from growing soil salinity. More often secondary salinization in irrigated soils begins to appear even at relatively deep groundwater (3.5-4) in the form of seasonal (during summer) spot salinization of soils on microrelief elevations, on spots of irrigated fields bare from cultural vegetation.

History and development prospects of silk farming in Uzbekistan

Mulberry silkworm seeds were smuggled to Central Asia by a Chinese princess married to Khotan Khan in the middle of the 4th century. By the 7th century, Khotan, Kusham and other Northern Silk Industry was the main labor activity of the population in the provinces of Turkestan. In the 7th century, as a result of the introduction of the technology of cocooning and gazlam weaving by Marv merchants for commercial purposes from Persia, it became more widespread in the territory of Central Asia. Uzbekistan is a country with a long history among the world's developed silk industry. Mulberry silkworm seeds entered Central Asia through the Khotan province in the middle of the 4th century, and have become one of the main occupations of the population until now. This article analyzes the history of sericulture in Uzbekistan, stages of development, and achievements in the field of research and production. It is planned to increase the total area of mulberry plantations in Uzbekistan from 48,720 hectares in 2019 to 77,422 hectares by 2021, and the number of individual mulberry rows to 79 million 515 thousand bushes. It is also planned to increase the number of boxes of silkworms from 350,000 boxes to 500,000 boxes, from 19,607 tons to 30,000 tons.

Organic information: influential authors and organizations in the Midwestern and Northeastern United States organic and sustainable agriculture community

Abstract As organic food increases in popularity, there has been increased interest in the history of organic farming. Previous scholarship has done excellent work documenting the social and political aspects of organic and sustainable agriculture, but less research has been done on the history of organic farming methods. The purpose of this study was to address this deficiency by surveying the organic and sustainable farming community in the midwestern and northeastern United States to identify influential authors, publications and organizations. Information about influences on farming practices was created using an anonymous online survey, distributed through organic and sustainable agriculture organizations in the target region. Out of the 224 respondents who completed the survey, 171 (76%) listed books, 169 (75%) listed organizations and 123 (55%) listed influential individuals. A total of 218 authors were identified, with Eliot Coleman receiving the most mentions, followed by Rodale publications, Wendell Berry, Acres U.S.A. magazine, Masanobu Fukuoka, Joel Salatin and Michael Pollan. 242 organizations were listed, with Marbleseed (MOSES), MOFGA, NOFA, PASA, OEFFA, LSP, SFA-MN and MOFFA most frequently mentioned. These results provide a useful starting point for future research on the development and dissemination of farming methods in this region. Research priorities include conducting oral histories with still-living authors of influential books and archiving organizational records before critical historical information is lost.