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The Moon and Plant Growth

Abstract

BELIEFS that phases of the moon have a differential effect on the rate of development of plants are both ancient and world-wide. Proof by rational experiment seems to have been sought more hundred and fifty years ago by La Quin-tins the horticulturist, and some years later by Dunamel du Monceau1, the forester. Neither obtained any positive evidence of lunar influence. Since then, scientific interest in the subject has been revived intermittently, either by the ‘rediscovery’ of lunar rites in the agriculture of civilized countries, or by the impact on Europeans of the impressive faith of primitive peoples, particularly in the tropics and sub-tropics.

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BEESON, C. The Moon and Plant Growth. Nature 158, 572–573 (1946). https://doi.org/10.1038/158572a0

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