three-field system

American  

noun

1. Agriculture. (especially formerly) a system of crop rotation in which a village divided its shared farmland into three fields, one allowed to lie fallow and the other two planted with different crops having complementary nutritional requirements and biocontrol effects, with these three functions being rotated annually from one field to another.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

three-field system

Under this new three-field system, farmers could grow crops on two-thirds of their land each year, not just on half of it.

From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2012

The process improved upon older methods of crop rotation, such as the medieval three-field system discussed in Chapter 14.

From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2012

The three-field system was typical of farming during the Middle Ages.

From "Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!: Voices from a Medieval Village" by Laura Amy Schlitz

The treatise on husbandry of Walter of Henley, dating from the early 13th century, is very valuable as describing the management of the demesne under the two- or three-field system.

From The Project Gutenberg Encyclopedia Volume 1 of 28 by Project Gutenberg

The normal method of agriculture was the "three-field system," with a rotation of wheat, barley, or oats, and in the third year, fallow—to allow of the exhausted soil regaining some measure of its fertility.

From Ontario Teachers' Manuals: History by Ontario. Ministry of Education