Crop rotation

Crop rotation or Crop sequencing is the practice of growing a series of dissimilar types of crops in the same space in sequential seasons for various benefits such as to avoid the build up of pathogens and pests that often occurs when one species is continuously cropped. Crop rotation also seeks to balance the fertility demands of various crops to avoid excessive depletion of soil nutrients. A traditional component of crop rotation is the replenishment of nitrogen through the use of green manure in sequence with cereals and other crops. It is one component of polyculture. Crop rotation can also improve soil structure and fertility by alternating deep-rooted and shallow-rooted plants.

Method and purpose

Crop rotation avoids a decrease in soil fertility, as growing the same crop repeatedly in the same place eventually depletes the soil of various nutrients. A crop that leaches the soil of one kind of nutrient is followed during the next growing season by a dissimilar crop that returns that nutrient to the soil or draws a different ratio of nutrients, for example, rices followed by cottons. By crop rotation farmers can keep their fields under continuous production, without the need to let them lie fallow, and reducing the need for artificial fertilizers, both of which can be expensive.

Legumes, plants of the family Fabaceae, for instance, have nodules on their roots which contain nitrogen-fixing bacteria. It therefore makes good sense agriculturally to alternate them with cereals (family Poaceae) and other plants that require nitrates. A common modern crop rotation is alternating soybeans and maize (corn). In subsistence farming, it also makes good nutritional sense to grow beans and grain at the same time in different fields.

Crop rotation is also used to control pests and diseases that can become established in the soil over time. Plants within the same taxonomic family tend to have similar pests and pathogens. By regularly changing the planting location, the pest cycles can be broken or limited. For example, root-knot nematode is a serious problem for some plants in warm climates and sandy soils, where it slowly builds up to high levels in the soil, and can severely damage plant productivity by cutting off circulation from the plant roots. Growing a crop that is not a host for root-knot nematode for one season greatly reduces the level of the nematode in the soil, thus making it possible to grow a susceptible crop the following season without needing soil fumigation.

It is also difficult to control weeds similar to the crop which may contaminate the final produce. For instance, ergot in weed grasses is difficult to separate from harvested grain. A different crop allows the weeds to be eliminated, breaking the ergot cycle.

This principle is of particular use in organic farming, where pest control may be achieved without synthetic pesticides.

A general effect of crop rotation is that there is a geographic mixing of crops, which can slow the spread of pests and diseases during the growing season. The different crops can also reduce the effects of adverse weather for the individual farmer and, by requiring planting and harvest at different times, allow more land to be farmed with the same amount of machinery and labor.

The choice and sequence of rotation crops depends on the nature of the soil, the climate, and precipitation which together determine the type of plants that may be cultivated. Other important aspects of farming such as crop marketing and economic variables must also be considered when choosing a crop rotation.

History

Crop rotation was already mentioned in the Roman literature, and referred to by great civilizations in Africa and Asia. From the end of the Middle Ages until the 20th century, the three-year rotation was practiced by farmers in Europe with a rotation of rye or winter wheat, followed by spring oats or barley, then letting the soil rest (fallowomen) during the third stage. The fact that suitable rotations made it possible to restore or to maintain a productive soil has long been recognized by planting spring crops for livestock in place of grains for human consumption.

A four-field rotation was pioneered by farmers, namely in the region Waasland in the early 16th century and popularised by the British agriculturist Charles Townshend in the 18th century. The system (wheat, barley, turnips and clover), opened up a fodder crop and grazing crop allowing livestock to be bred year-round. The four-field crop rotation was a key development in the British Agricultural Revolution.

Contrary to the widespread myth, crop rotation was not pioneered in the United States by George Washington Carver. Carver merely taught the standard technique to poor black farmers as part of his extension education program. In the Green revolution, the practice of crop rotation gave way in some parts of the world to the practice of simply adding the necessary chemical inputs to the depleted soil, e.g., replacing organic nitrogen with ammonium nitrate or urea and restoring soil pH with lime. However, disadvantages of monoculture from the standpoint of sustainable agriculture have since become apparent.

Examples of crop rotation

Agriculture

Note: translation in progress from Dutch. Please contribute!

red=bad; orange=acceptable; yellow=good; green=very good
insects are Crane fly, Click beetle and caterpillars
Diseases are fungi
structure is structure decomposition.

Previous cultivation	Potato	Beet	Poppy	Pea	Meadow (old)	Grass	Caraway	Clover Alfalfa	Rapeseed	Broad bean	Onion	Flax	Winter- barley	Winter- rye	Winter- wheat	Oats	Summer- barley	Summer- wheat
Plant
Potato	nematodes diseases	structure	diseases		insects quality
Beet				thrips	insects			insects	nematodes			thrips					thrips	thrips
Poppy		structure		thrips	insects			insects	weed		weed	thrips					thrips	thrips
Pea		structure			quality			quality	weed			thrips					thrips	thrips
Grass Meadow	late	late	late							late	late				late	late		late
Caraway	late	late	late				diseases			late	late
Clover Alfalfa	late	late	late				insects		insects	late	late				late	late		late
Rapeseed	late	diseases late	late				insects			late	late		late	late	late	late	late	late
Broad Bean					quality	quality		quality
Onion		structure			quality	quality		quality	weed	weed		thrips		nematodes		nematodes
Flax	quality	quality structure		thrips	quality	quality		quality		weed	nematodes	thrips		uncommon			thrips	thrips
Winter barley	late	late			insects quality			insects quality		late	late					nematodes late	diseases	diseases thrips
Winter rye	late	late			insects quality			insects quality		late	nematodes	uncommon			late	nematodes late		late
Winter wheat	late	late			insects quality	insects		insects quality		late	late		thrips					thrips late
Oats					insects quality			insects quality			nematodes			nematodes
Summer barley					insects quality	quality		insects quality				thrips			thrips	nematodes		thrips
Barley															thrips	nematodes		thrips
Summer wheat					insects quality			insects quality				thrips	thrips		thrips		thrips

Vegetable cultivation

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External links

Cyclopedia of American Agriculture ed. by L. H. Bailey (1911), Vol. II--Crops, Chapter V "Crop Management," primarily the history and theory of crop rotation.