Abstract
The cropping systems of seventeenth century traditional organic agriculture in the Jiaxing region of eastern China required about 2000 hr of labor per hectare for rice production. Rice and related grain crops were produced employing only human power. The input was about 200 times that for most mechanized grain production today. The charcoal or fossil energy input to produce simple hand tools accounted for only 1–2% total energy in the crop systems. Organic wastes including manures, pond sediments, and green manure crops supplied most of the nutrients. Rice yields, ranging as high as 6700–8400 kg/ha, were similar to some of the highest yields today. The energy output/input ratio ranged from 9 for compost-fertilized rice to 12 for green manure-fertilized rice production. These ratios were 2–10 times higher than most mechanized rice production systems of today. Knowledge of the crop and soil system enabled the early Chinese farms to maintain high crop yields and sustain highly productive soils.
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Dazhong, W., Pimentel, D. Seventeenth century organic agriculture in China: I. Cropping systems in Jiaxing region. Hum Ecol 14, 1–14 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00889207
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00889207