Coltura Promiscua
"Coltura promiscua" (literally "promiscuous culture", or companion agriculture) is a traditional Mediterranean method of cultivating land. Herbaceous plants (vegetables, cereals, hemp), shrubs, lianas (such as vines, especially grapes), and trees are planted together on the same plot, with some serving as protection or support for others.
This ancient mode of agriculture permits the use of the earth to its maximum potential. Plants with different growth stages and nutrient requirements can be placed next to each other. Likewise, the solar energy necessary for photosynthesis benefits from the staggered arrangement of foliage over time. This form of cultivation prevents farmers from being penalized by the accidental failure of one product due to climatic incidents or attacks from pests, insects, and crop pathogens. It also requires a large labor force, necessitated by the size and variety of trees and shrubs, with minimal use of machinery and engines. In the twentieth century, with the introduction of machinery for working the land, coltura promiscua was abandoned in many areas because the presence of shrubs and trees hampered the movement of mechanized machinery – this was the case in western France, where hedges of trees and companion shrubs were removed from the bocage landscape. It has persisted in certain regions of Italy and Portugal which have continued to utilize subsistence agriculture.
Today, coltura promiscua is experiencing a resurgence under the name of agroforestry, developing in tropical regions in particular. In these areas it is necessary to feed the population with locally produced crops (rather than imported products that compete with and detract from local farms), and the agricultural labor that this mode of cultivation requires allows the retention of the countryside's population, avoiding the rural exodus that leads to swelling semi-urban shantytowns.
See Also
- Companion planting
- Bocage
- Satoyama
- Intercropping
- Ecological facilitation
- Nursery plants
References
- Translated from https://fr.vikidia.org/wiki/Coltura_promiscua
- Dirt: The Erosion of Civilization by David Montgomery Chapter 4 "The earliest Roman farmers planted a multistory canopy of olives, grapes, cereals, and fodder crops referred to as cultura promiscua. Interplanting of understory and overstory crops smothered weeds, saved labor, and prevented erosion by shielding the ground all year. Roots of each crop reached to different depths and did not compete with each other. Instead, the multicrop system raised soil temperatures and extended the growing season."
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