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Home » Methods » Crop Rotation

Crop Rotation

The aspect of crop rotation plays a major role in improving the quality of the organic crops as the crop rotation method is known to improve the quality of the soil. Crop rotation in organic farming is also known as crop sequencing which indicates the activity of growing various types of crops which are technically dissimilar to each other in nature and type in the same space in an order of consecutive seasons. This is done to avail of the variety of benefits and also to avoid the growth of pathogens and pests causing the quality of the crop to deteriorate.
The application of crop rotation is also known to help in balancing the factors of fertility and also prevents the depletion of soil nutrients.One of the major benefits of crop rotation is the renewal of the nitrogen content in the field and this is done in sequence usage of green manure and cereals including other crops. This is known to be a major component of the realm of poly culture. Crop rotation can also help in improving the structure of the soil as it alters the deep rooted and shallow rooted plants.

Crop rotation is known to prevent the depletion of fertility of soil which happens mostly due to repeated cultivation of the same crop for a long time and this eventually depletes the soil from the nutrients which strengthens the quality of soil. The aspect of rotation of crops seasonally replenishes the nutrients that were lost during the cropping of a particular type of crop previous season. The farmers adhering to the method of crop rotation in organic farming can continue to keep their field under production without leaving their fields fallow and also at the same time they can reduce the requirement for artificial or synthetic fertilizers thus cutting down on their expanses. Crop rotation in organic farming is also beneficial regarding controlling of pests and various diseases which can grow on the soil over a long span of time. The application of crop rotation in organic farming norms also helps in eliminating the growth of unnecessary weeds in the fields.

Normally crop rotation is known to have the effect as to reduce the spread and growth of pests and various diseases. Crop rotation also allows the same land to be worked upon by similar machineries and same amount of labor. Generally the choice of the types of crops to be used in crop rotation or the sequence in which they are used during organic farming mostly depends on the nature of the soil, the type of climate and the amount of rainfall the place receives. The other factors determining the aspect of choosing the crops for the purpose of crop rotation are known to be crop marketing and other economic factors and variables that determine the market value, demand and prices of a particular crop that should be used for crop rotation.

Crop rotation traces its roots from the Roman literature and even during the Islamic Golden Age the Muslim Agricultural Revolution initiated by the Muslim farmers including the engineers was the policy of rotating the crops for almost 4 times or more in a time span of apparently 2 years. Despite being a highly beneficial cropping method of organic farming the element of crop rotation has its own drawbacks too as in the age of fast results and high productivity, crop rotation farming done mostly on the basis of natural fertilizers, manures and strict avoidance of synthetic chemical fertilizers and pesticides leaves the crops more open to the new age crop ruining risks and risks of under production.

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