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 control in the forefront.
Crop protection is embedded in the medieval agronomy text books but
specialised sections 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scarification, now outdated.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.