Plant Pest Control in the Texts of Ancient Agronomists

Agriculture was an important branch of the economy in ancient Rome. Agricultural production not only provided significant income to farm owners but also played a crucial role in providing food to the population. In agricultural production, it was important to protect plants and stored crops against pests. Their invasions destroyed plants, reduced yields, reduced the quality of products, or made them unfit for consumption. Ancient agronomists recorded the names of many pests that fed on grains, vines, vegetables, and fruit trees, and provided methods for dealing with them. Most methods were based on securing the rooms where the harvest was stored, protecting the sown seeds, repelling and eliminating pests. Modern research has confirmed the effectiveness of some of the proposed methods, while in other cases, due to the intensity of the invasion, it was necessary to use methods unavailable in antiquity. The agronomists’ findings have been confirmed by archaeological research. Although the research is still incomplete and fragmentary, it confirmed the presence of some pests mentioned in the texts, as well as many others not identified by agronomists. Archaeoentomologists analyzes have also confirmed the scale of the problem that the ancient Romans had to face.