cultivation

The agreement offered the new industry temporary relief by eliminating the cultivation tax passed by voters under Proposition 64, the 2016 initiative that legalized cannabis.

"If farmers replace rice or wheat cultivation with maize, that would be sustainable because we have enough surplus of these crops. But we need other crops like oilseeds and pulses too," Ms Natarajan said.

"Climatic change is creating havoc in apple cultivation," he says.

Sociologists call it “concerted cultivation,” said Jennifer Hook, a professor of sociology at the University of Southern California.

To start, they’re believed to be the first domesticated food crop, with their earliest cultivation dating back 10,000 years in the Fertile Crescent.