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Peach cultivation and use among the Canyon de Chelly Navajo

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Abstract

The Navajo of Canyon de Chelly, Arizona, learned peach cultivation from the Hopi in the eighteenth century. Navajos plant volunteer seedings and seeds. Slip planting, grafting, budding, pruning living branches, and fruit thinning, which had no precedents in Navajo agriculture, were rejected. Navajos protect their orchards against mammalian pests, and now practice spring spraying. Mapping of present orchards showed them to be located on alluvial terraces receiving runoff from cliffs and small tributary drainages; irrigation is occasionally practiced. Peaches are eaten fresh, boiled, or dried and stewed, and are used as a ceremonial purgative. Kernels are used in polishing stone griddles and in witchcraft.

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  1. Department of Geography, University of California, Davis, California

    Stephen C. Jett

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  1. Stephen C. Jett
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Jett, S.C. Peach cultivation and use among the Canyon de Chelly Navajo. Econ Bot 33, 298–310 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02858259

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