Any developed civilized state originated from the skills and experience of a person placed in difficult conditions before nature. This applies to ancient people who were able to achieve incredible results through their efforts, on the basis of which we built modern society. The basis of every country is its economy, and the basis of the economy is agriculture. It is its level of development that affects the standard of living of the population of ancient states, including Ancient Russia. Even then, a person understood that one should not only take from nature, one must understand it and give it something. This contributed to the diversity of agricultural systems. One of such systems in ancient Russia is a relog.
Development of agriculture
Agricultural skills came to us from primitive society. The beginning of self-cultivation of plants was laid in the Neolithic era. It was then that primitive people switched from hunting and banal gathering of plants to their reproduction. According to legend, after the harvest, women missed several grains on the road. After a while, they saw that new sprouts had appeared in this place. This event gave impetus to the development of agriculture.
According to archaeological data, the initial farming dates back to the 4th millennium BC, and in America - even earlier. Of course, they did not yet know what fallow was, but the development of agriculture had already begun. It developed differently in different places. Some tribes led a settled way of life from the very beginning. Most were nomads. Already with the increase in the number of members of the tribe, the nomads also began to lead a sedentary lifestyle. Associated with this is the increased use of the soil, and the methods of its cultivation.
The uniform division of the territory into pastures, arable land and forests has begun. In order not to deplete the natural potential of the soil, various systems for cultivating the fields were used. But over-exploitation of resources and an increase in population have led to a decrease in fertility.
Education of Ancient Russia
After the development of agriculture and the formation of a tribal system, a new stage has come - the formation of states. The first Slavic state - Kievan Rus. It was formed when the tribes of Polyans, Northerners and Volhynians united around a single original prototype of the administrative center - Kyiv. From an economic point of view, Ancient Russia had a favorable location, since the Dnieper River flowed through its territory - an important water artery for merchant ships heading to Byzantium.
The development of the future state was influenced not only by income from passing merchant ships, but also by internal achievements, which is an important part of the history of the AncientRussia. The fallow was used as one of the existing farming systems. One of the positive conditions for the development of the economy is the location in the forest-steppe zone. In these natural conditions, both the slash-and-burn system and the fallow in Ancient Russia were used, which improved the yield. For this, improved tools were used: plows, scythes, sickles, and so on.
Crops
Although agriculture in Ancient Russia was developed, crops were grown quite a bit. The range of vegetable crops was poor. The main attention was paid to cereals: wheat, rye, simply, oats. Of the vegetables, only turnips, beets, cabbages and legumes were known. Flax was also of great importance. It could not only be used for food, but also for other needs. So, fabric fabrics for clothes were made from flax fiber.
Fallowing in Ancient Russia helped to get the maximum yield from a small number of crops. This small number of crops allowed the soil to recover from good years. Thus, people provided peace to the earth, protected it from depletion in order to obtain the maximum harvest in the future.
Farming systems
There are several farming systems. Three-field and two-field were common. Arable land was divided into 2-3 parts. One or two of them were used for crops, and the rest was left and not disturbed for a year. This method was used to enrich the soil and saturate it with the necessary elements. Later, this method became obsolete.
We continue the description of fallow in Ancient Russia. There was also a slash-and-burn system, mainly in the northwestern part of the state. This method stretched over several years. Trees were cut down first. A year later, they were burned, and the ash from them served as soil fertilizer. After a couple of years, the soil was still depleted, and this provoked a search for new places for farming.
For a long time there was a fallow in Ancient Russia. This definition is known to few today, but this method of cultivating the land lingered in history for a long time.
Southeastern farming system
Pelog in Ancient Russia is the simplest and most gentle system. Its essence lies in the rational use of land resources. The territory of arable soil was used for several years in a row for grain crops. When yields declined, it signaled that the soil was being depleted. Then the territory was abandoned, and the crops were transferred to another field. Within a few years, the land was restored, nothing was grown in these territories, but they were used as pastures for grazing livestock. After the required period, the rested territory, fertilized with animal excrement and humus of wild plants, was again used for plowing. In simple words, fallow in Ancient Russia is a method in which soil depletion alternated with saturation and rest.
Modern farming systems
Unfortunately, in our time, agriculture does not take into account the needsoil to the restoration process. Today, yield increases are achieved with the help of additional chemicals.
A full-fledged harvest is provided by a comprehensive plant protection system. This includes the use of machinery, the use of pesticides, the observance of optimal terms and conditions for agricultural activities, the selection of optimal predecessor crops. Many people don't even know what a relog is.
