In this article, we are are going to see what is crop rotation and what are the advantages of crop rotation in agricultural farming.
Crop Rotation is one of the most established and effective cultural control strategies. It implies the arranged request of a particular crop planted on the same field; it additionally implies that the succeeding crop belongs to different family in comparison to the past yield. The rotation may vary from 2 or 3 year or longer period. The primary target is to get greatest benefit from slightest speculation without hindering the soil fertility. Soil is the base for plant development and advancement. Fruitful harvest cultivation relies upon the decision of right yield in the correct soil.
See also: Advantages and Disadvantages of Drip Irrigation
Tips to Plan Crop Rotation:
- List down the crops you want to grow but taking into consideration the market demand of your produce.
- It is smarter to develop vegetables before grains or oats since vegetables fix atmospheric nitrogen into the soil and add more organic matter to the soil.
- The crops with tap root should be followed by those which have fibrous root system, as this helps in proper and uniform use of nutrients from the soil.
- Thorough harvests ought to be trailed by less comprehensive yields on the grounds that thorough products like potato, maize and sugarcane require more sources of info, for example, better culturing, composts and more noteworthy number of water systems.
- The crop of a similar family should not been grown in succession since they act like alternate host for insects, pests and diseases.
- Practice green manuring to keep up the soil fertility rate.
- Always maintain farm records.
See also: Advantages and Disadvantages of Greenhouse Technology
Characteristics of Good Crop Rotation
- It ought to be adoptable to the current soil climate and economical factor.
- It should be based on proper land usage.
- It ought to contain adequate number of soil improving crops to keep up and develop organic matter of the soil.
- It ought to give adequate fodder for domestic animals raised on farm.
- It should be so arranged as to make economy in production and labor utilization.
- It ought to be so arranged as to help in control of weeds, plant disease and bugs.
See also: Inter cropping – Types and Advantages
Benefits of Crop Rotation
Improves Soil
Suppresses Insects
Reduces weeds
See also: Benefits of Mulching Sheets / Films in Sustainable Farming
Advantages of Crop Rotation in Agriculture
- Better Nitrogen Management
- Improved Soil Structure
- Water conservation
- Prevention of soil erosion
- Climate change mitigation
- High Crop yields
- Production of Green manure cover crops
- Reduced Land and Water pollution
- Easier pest and weed control
- Healthy Environment
Above are the top advantages of crop rotation method in agriculture.