In 1928, a Soviet agronomist named Trofim Lysenko claimed to have developed a method through which crop yields could be massively increased using a collection of discoveries and techniques he'd perfected. One such technique, vernalization, involved keeping wheat seeds in high-humidity, low-temperature environments, while another involved using grafts to attach pieces of one plant to pieces of another species to change the stock—the rooted—species to that of the one that was attached.
Fascinating. And frightening, as it's already happening in the USA (although, so far, to a lesser extent).
Keep up the great writing!