Agriculture in the prehistoric Southwest
After the Hohokam disappeared, Spanish explorers of the 16th century noted the use of canal irrigation in only two areas of the Southwest: eastern Sonora, primarily practiced by the Opata and Lower Pima, and among the Pueblos of northern New Mexico. Irrigation by the Opata and Pueblos had different objectives. In Sonora, with a long growing season, two crops of maize a year were grown in river valleys. The spring crop during the dry season was dependent upon irrigation; the summer and fall crop during the rainy season utilized irrigation to supplement rainfall. The necessity of irrigation probably required a high level of social organization. In New Mexico, with only one crop of maize per year possible, irrigation was supplemental and the lesser dependence on irrigation implies less social organization than in Sonora.
Al-Andalusian palatial complex and neighborhood of San Esteban
The Muslim influence in Murcia is most notable in farming, particularly irrigation. The old Roman aqueducts and underground pipes were utilized, they added canals and water-wheels, and channelled the river Segura in a similar way to what the Egyptians did with the Nile. More sophisticated farming techniques led to an agricultural boom. Rice fields were the work of Islamic farmers, who also brought citrus fruit, aubergines and artichoke, figs, dates, apricots, sugar cane, olives, and different types of wheat into the country. These settlers also gave a huge boost to the textile industry by harvesting cotton and flax.