Autumn is traditionally the harvest season in many parts of the world.
Fields fill with fruits, vegetables, and grains ready to be gathered, while farmers work tirelessly to collect the fruits of their labor before winter sets in. But why do most harvests occur specifically in the autumn?
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The plant growth cycle
Most cultivated plants, such as wheat, maize, potatoes, or apples, follow a natural growth cycle in response to the seasons. This cycle begins in the spring when warmer temperatures and increased daylight promote seed germination and the development of young shoots.
Summer provides ideal conditions with plenty of sunlight and warmth to foster plant growth, enabling them to produce flowers and fruits.
When autumn arrives, the days start to shorten, and temperatures gradually decline. This climatic shift marks the end of the growth cycle. The plants have then reached maturity, and their fruits, seeds, or tubers are ready for harvesting.
Autumn thus becomes the ideal time for harvesting, as it is the moment when plants have accumulated the maximum amount of nutrients and are ready to yield their produce.
The role of temperatures
Another reason why autumn is favorable for harvesting lies in the climatic conditions.
In the summer, it can be too hot to store certain products, and they run the risk of deteriorating quickly. On the other hand, the cooler autumn temperatures slow down decomposition processes, allowing farmers to store their harvests for longer without fearing that they might spoil.
In some regions, winter frosts can destroy crops. Harvesting in the autumn thus helps maximize yield before weather conditions become too extreme to sustain plant life.
The importance of seasons for agriculture
Historically, agriculture has been closely tied to the seasons.
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Ancient agricultural systems relied entirely on the climate and the natural rhythm of the seasons to determine planting and harvesting times. This cycle continues to influence modern agriculture, even though technologies today allow for certain harvests to be extended or crops to be grown in greenhouses. Nonetheless, autumn remains a vital period for the vast majority of crops.
Autumn harvests also allow farmers and communities to store provisions for the winter months when open-field farming is no longer possible. Root vegetables such as potatoes and carrots, as well as cereals like wheat or maize, are harvested in bulk during this season to feed both people and livestock during the cold months.