Date of Award:
8-2019
Document Type:
Thesis
Degree Name:
Master of Science (MS)
Department:
Plants, Soils, and Climate
Committee Chair(s)
Brent Black
Committee
Brent Black
Committee
Daniel Drost
Committee
Grant Cardon
Committee
Randy Williams
Abstract
Agricultural production among the Native American populations of the Southwest declined significantly during the twentieth century. Corn, beans and squash, the three most recognized traditional food crops, remains widespread, but knowledge regarding the traditional management of these crops was lost. The loss of traditional knowledge for Southwest Indigenous Nations was more pronounced for the Southwest peach (Prunus persica) and Navajo spinach (Cleome serrulata Pursh). The Navajo, Hopi, and Zuni Nations are all seeking to increase the availability of traditional crops for their original uses, such as for food and wool dye. In order to revitalize traditional agriculture for these tribes, information regarding these crops was gathered, including: variety characterization, the horticultural basis for traditional management practices, and cultural uses and significance. Southwest peach orchards were located for seed and plant material collections to characterize their genotype and relate them to modern peach cultivars. Traditional farmers were interviewed on management practices and irrigation strategies to correlate to dendrochronology (tree-ring analysis) techniques. Dendrochronology samples included tree stumps or cores to evaluate ring growth variability, age, and life span of the orchard trees. Navajo spinach seed was collected from Chinle, Arizona for germination studies on overcoming seed dormancy. Information on both Southwest peach and Navajo spinach will be useful to encourage culturally important traditional crop management.
Checksum
223015b73df12872579616991e01d288
Recommended Citation
Wytsalucy, Reagan C., "Explorations and Collaborations on Two Under-Recognized Native American Food Crops: Southwest Peach (Prunus persica) and Navajo Spinach (Cleome serrulata)" (2019). All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023. 7612.
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/7612
Included in
Copyright for this work is retained by the student. If you have any questions regarding the inclusion of this work in the Digital Commons, please email us at .