Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
CHAPTER 1
Where We Came From and Where We Are
CHAPTER CONTENTS
People have grown tree fruit crops throughout the world for thousands of
years. Production systems have ranged from harvesting fruit from wild
trees to sophisticated, highly managed orchards in which the fruit is har-
vested by robots. Within that range, each fruit grower can find a niche that
is comfortable and meets his or her needs. This chapter provides insight in-
to the evolution of farming methods, particularly as they relate to the or-
ganic production of orchard crops.
Where We Came From
Before 1900, virtually all food was grown by what today we would call “or-
ganic” methods. Farms were small and often integrated crops and livestock.
Labor requirements were high, and a typical farmer could feed only a small
number of people. During the early 1900s, products of the industrial revolu-
tion began spilling over into agriculture. Tractors and combines reduced
labor needs and made large, specialized farms possible.
The development of modern agriculture accelerated after World War I
as new technology was transferred from military to civilian use. Synthetic,
petroleum-based nitrogen fertilizers were discovered in the 1800s, but the
production methods used for munitions explosives made large-scale manu-
