Bhubaneswar: One always associates farming and farmers with human beings.
However, a recent study has left people dumbfounded. It claims that ants were the first to develop farming.
According to a study published in the Science journal, ants began farming 66 million years ago, long before humans developed agriculture. The first cultivation by ants was fungi.
Headed by entomologist Ted Schultz at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, the study traced the origins of farming by ants to “the aftermath of the asteroid impact that wiped out the dinosaurs”.
Research head Schultz has claimed that ants have been practising agriculture for much longer than humans have existed. “Their success over the past 66 million years can offer valuable lessons for human farming practices,” Schultz stated.
Scientists used extensive genetic analysis, sequencing data from 475 fungal species and 276 ant species in the study. The research helped in finding the age of ant agriculture and the symbiotic relationship between ants and fungi over time.
The research showed that the impact of asteroid led to the development of favourable conditions for fungi to thrive on decaying plant material, thereby assisting ants to cultivate and farm them.
Scientists believe that farming strategies adapted by ants over millions of years might help humans develop more sustainable agricultural methods for the future.
