One of the methods is by rotating crops, changing to different type of product after the harvest.
Do you agree to this method, or have any suggestion as to other method for higher yield agricultural produce?
Street Smart
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like wise.
Dear Street Smart,
It is not a profitable and good farming practice to plant or sow the same crop on same peiece of land each year. As you also have underlined, that kind of farming practice causes the crop to yield lesser and more costly every year, as plants will be more susceptible to pests and diseases. That's why some crops like sugar beets and tomatoes are not planted on same piece of land each year.On the other hand, when crop-rotation applied, both crops, previous and following, can yield more, specially if the previous crop is a legume. As legume crops have the ability of N fixation from the air to the soil, the following crop will benefit of it and yield more with less fertilizer cost..
Yarenimex
Dear Ms. Deepali,
Yes, mixed crop is another good farming practice. The second crop is called as "companion crop". In practice, generally the main crop is sowed in abundance , and the seeds of companion crop is sowed lesser.For example, if you sow vetches, you use more seeds of vetches, and less seeds of barley, if you choose barley as companion crop. However there is not a certain rule on the percentage of the seeds to be mixed, it all depends on the farmers' preferences..
Quoting from [Street Smart]: Crop rotation
Crop rotation is one of the oldest and most effective cultural control strategies. It means the planned order of specific crops planted on the same field. It also means that the succeeding crop belongs to a different family than the previous one. The planned rotation may vary from 2 or 3 year or longer period.
Some insect pests and disease-causing organisms are hosts' specific. For example, rice stem borer feeds mostly on rice. If you don't rotate rice with other crops belonging to a different family, the problem continues as food is always available to the pest. However, if you plant legume as the next crop, then corn, then beans, then bulbs, the insect pest will likely die due to absence of food.Advantages of crop rotation
- Prevents soil depletion
- Maintains soil fertility
- Reduces soil erosion
- Controls insect/mite pests. Crop rotation as a means to control to insect pests is most effective when the pests are present before the crop is planted have no wide range of host crops; attack only annual/biennial crops; and do not have the ability to fly from one field to another.
- Reduces reliance on synthetic chemicals
- Reduces the pests' build-up
- Prevents diseases
- Helps control weeds
Useful tips in planning crop rotation
- Know the family where your crops belong to make sure that you plant on the next cropping a crop that belongs to a different family than the previous one.
Table 1. Crop groups
Family Common names Allium Chive, garlic, leek, onion, shallot Cucurbit (Gourd family) Bitter gourd, bottle gourd, chayote
cucumber, ivy gourd, luffa gourd, melons
pumpkins, snake gourd, squash, wax gourdCrucifer (Brassica) Bok choy (petchay), broccoli, Brussels sprouts,
cabbage, Chinese cabbage, cauliflower, collard,
kale, kohlrabi, mustard, radish,
turnip, watercressLegume Common beans, black bean, broad bean (Fava),
clover, cowpea, garbanzo, hyacinth bean,
kidney bean, Lima bean, lintel, mungbean,
peanut, pigeon pea, pinto bean, runner bean,
snap pea, snow pea, soybean,
string bean, white beanAster Lettuce, artichoke Solanaceous (Nightshade family) Potato, tomato, pepper, eggplant Grains and cereals Corn, rice, sorghum, wheat, oat, barley, millet Carrot family Carrot, celery, dill, parsnip, parsley Root crops Cassava, sweet potato, taro, yam, water chestnut Mallow family Cotton, okra
Continued:
- Make a list of the crops you want to grow by also taken into consideration the market's demand of your produce. For example, plant leafy vegetable on the first cropping season, next fruit vegetables, then root crops, then legumes, then small grains
- Grow legumes before grains or cereals
- Practice green manuring
- Always keep farm records
Source:http://www.oisat.org/control_methods/cultural__practices/crop_rotation.html
Quoting from [Street Smart]:
Oh!
I cannot imagine,that so may farmers and agriculture family are here:
but I donot know how many are practical farmers:
I am also a farmer: I accept the crop rotation: but this is needed only moderated irrigated lands. but soils have more slopes and unable to irrigate, horticultural crops are better:
For other saline lands, test the soil and plant trees like teak.. this is also a good renumerative
The secret to a successful bumper crop is how, when and what to crop-rotate.
Curdrice, though we are not farmers, here in the forum, we are making conversations out of a subject, which we have heard, read or experience through associates of ours. That does not make you one who 'talks down" to us.
Street
TIJIT PTE LTD
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