Scientific Theory and Agricultural Practice: Plant Breeding in Germany from the Late 19th to the Early 20th Century

Wieland, Thomas

doi:10.1007/s10739-006-0006-4

Cited by 25 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…On the development of breeding science after World War Two and rise of pig as a research object see Woods (2012), Brassley (2007). 7 This autonomy and distance from basic genetics mirrors the gap between scientific theory and practice that other historians have shown in early twentieth-century agriculture (Wieland 2006;Theunissen 2008). 8 ''Current research projects'', ABRO Report-January 1970, pp.…”

Section: Animal Breeding and Its Institutionalisation In Edinburghmentioning

confidence: 99%

Animal breeding in the age of biotechnology: the investigative pathway behind the cloning of Dolly the sheep

García-Sancho

2015

HPLS

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This paper addresses the 1996 cloning of Dolly the sheep, locating it within a long-standing tradition of animal breeding research in Edinburgh. Far from being an end in itself, the cell-nuclear transfer experiment from which Dolly was born should be seen as a step in an investigative pathway that sought the production of medically relevant transgenic animals. By historicising Dolly, I illustrate how the birth of this sheep captures a dramatic redefinition of the life sciences, when in the 1970s and 1980s the rise of neo-liberal governments and the emergence of the biotechnology market pushed research institutions to show tangible applications of their work. Through this broader interpretative framework, the Dolly story emerges as a case study of the deep transformations of agricultural experimentation during the last third of the twentieth century. The reorganisation of laboratory practice, human resources and institutional settings required by the production of transgenic animals had unanticipated consequences. One of these unanticipated effects was that the boundaries between animal and human health became blurred. As a result of this, new professional spaces emerged and the identity of Dolly the sheep was reconfigured, from an instrument for livestock improvement in the farm to a more universal symbol of the new cloning age.

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Section: Animal Breeding and Its Institutionalisation In Edinburghmentioning

confidence: 99%

Animal breeding in the age of biotechnology: the investigative pathway behind the cloning of Dolly the sheep

García-Sancho

2015

HPLS

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“…The scarcity of sources on agriculture is a hindrance towards charting a history of agricultural experimentation. Certain branches-plant breeding, for instance (Kloppenburg 1988;Palladino 1993Palladino , 1994Müller-Wille 2005;Bonneuil 2006;Wieland 2006;Saraiva 2010;Charnley 2011;Harwood 2012)-have received more attention than others, but much more work is required in order to survey agricultural research as a whole. Moreover, the extensive nature of agricultural science is not defined only by the number of branches it includes, but also by its worldwide diffusion, and knowledge of localised practices and regional variations is essential in any definition of experimental work in agriculture.…”

Section: Charting the History Of Agricultural Experiments 233mentioning

confidence: 99%

Charting the history of agricultural experiments

Parolini

2015

HPLS

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Agricultural experimentation is a world in constant evolution, spanning multiple scientific domains and affecting society at large. Even though the questions underpinning agricultural experiments remain largely the same, the instruments and practices for answering them have changed constantly during the twentieth century with the advent of new disciplines like molecular biology, genomics, statistics, and computing. Charting this evolving reality requires a mapping of the affinities and antinomies at work within the realm of agricultural research, and a consideration of the practices, tools and social and political structures in which agricultural experiments are grounded. Three main questions will be addressed to provide an overview of the complex world of agricultural research investigated by the special issue: What is an agricultural experiment? Who is an experimenter in agriculture? Where do agricultural experiments take place? It will become apparent that agricultural experiments have a wide relevance for human development as they touch upon concerns related to human health and nutrition, contribute to policy discussions, and can affect the social and political structures in which farming is embedded.

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“…Cambridge University's T.B. Wood (Russell 1930 Harwood has called the 'varietal question' (Harwood 2012), which was a concern for many states modernising their agricultural industries at the turn of the twentieth century (Bonneuil 2006;Iori 2013;Maat 2001;Wieland 2006). Only by finding the varieties best suited to particular areas, and under normal farming conditions (so it was argued), could agricultural industries modernise and become sufficiently productive.…”

Section: The Epistemic and Social Goals Of Varietal Triallingmentioning

confidence: 99%

The resisted rise of randomisation in experimental design: British agricultural science, c.1910–1930

Berry

2015

HPLS

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The most conspicuous form of agricultural experiment is the field trial, and within the history of such trials, the arrival of the randomised control trial (RCT) is considered revolutionary. Originating with R.A. Fisher within British agricultural science in the 1920s and 30s, the RCT has since become one of the most prodigiously used experimental techniques throughout the natural and social sciences. Philosophers of science have already scrutinised the epistemological uniqueness of RCTs, undermining their status as the 'gold standard' in experimental design. The present paper introduces a historical case study from the origins of the RCT, uncovering the initially cool reception given to this method by agricultural scientists at the University of Cambridge and the (Cambridge based) National Institute of Agricultural Botany (NIAB). Rather than giving further attention to the RCT, the paper focuses instead on a competitor method -the half-drill strip -which both predated the RCT and remained in wide use for at least a decade beyond the latter's arrival. In telling this history, John Pickstone's Ways of Knowing is adopted, as the most flexible, and productive way to write the history of science, particularly when sciences and scientists have to work across a number of different kinds of place. It is shown that those who resisted the RCT did so in order to preserve epistemic and social goals that randomisation would have otherwise run a tractor through. KeywordsField science; Agriculture; Randomised Control Trials; Epistemic goals; Ways of knowing AcknowledgmentsFirstly my thanks to Giuditta Parolini for conceiving of this special issue and inviting my contribution. Giuditta gave extensive feedback on numerous drafts, for which I am very grateful. Two anonymous reviewers and Staffan Müller-Wille greatly improved the article with excellent criticisms and suggestions. Greg Radick, Lijing Jiang, and Carl Warom gave generously with their time scrutinising final drafts. Matt Paskins and Mike Finn discussed the paper with me on a number of occasions, suggesting important changes. Lastly I thank those at the 10th iHPS meeting in Durham (and the conference organisers) who responded to this work with exciting questions (particularly

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Scientific Theory and Agricultural Practice: Plant Breeding in Germany from the Late 19th to the Early 20th Century

Cited by 25 publications

References 23 publications

Animal breeding in the age of biotechnology: the investigative pathway behind the cloning of Dolly the sheep

Animal breeding in the age of biotechnology: the investigative pathway behind the cloning of Dolly the sheep

Charting the history of agricultural experiments

The resisted rise of randomisation in experimental design: British agricultural science, c.1910–1930

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