Planting the same crop on the same plot of land can gradually strip the soil of its nutrients, weakening the plant and inviting pests. Ancient farmers found that by carefully managing a plot these effects would subside, the soil would recover its fertility, and the crop would strengthen with each passing year. Various methodologies were practiced, including two, three and even four cycles of planting, with climate dictating the complexity of rotation and the crops that could be grown. One of the most popular techniques was the 'food, feed, fallow' system. This saw farmers divide fields into three sections and in each, start with a wheat crop, followed by a vegetable or cereal for livestock feed, and finally the land would for a time be left 'fallow', or unused, to replenish its nutrients.
