UNIT 1 CROP ROTATION

Structure '

1.0 Objectives
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Principles of Crop Rotation
1.3 Effects of Crop Rotation
1.3.1 Balanced and Economic Nutrient Absorption
1.3.2 Soil Fertility and Health Build Up
1.3.3 Legume Effect
1.3.4 Reduction in Insect Pest Build Up
1.3.5 Weed Management
1 3.6 Crop Disease Management
1.3.7 Efficient Resource Utilization
1.3.8 Soil Moisture Utilization
1.3.9 Reduction in Soil Erosion
1.3.10 Tnco~neStability
1.3.11 Tlme Management
1.3.12 Machinery Efficiency
1.4 Farmers Skill
1.5 Crop Rotations after Green Revolution
1.6 Agronomical Practices for Cropping System
1.6.1 Land Preparation
1.6.2 Manuring
1.6.3 Water Management
1.6.4 Weed, Pest and Disease Management
1.7 Selection of Crops in Rotations
1.8 Advantages of Crop Rotations
1.9 Disadvantages of Crop Rotations
1.10 Let Us Sum Up
1.11 Key Words
1.12 Further References
1.13 Model Answers

1.0 OBJECTIVES
The present Unit aims at familiarizing you with the
Concept and objectives of crop rotation;
- rotation;
Principles -of - crop ..
Impact of crop rotations;
Advantages and disadvantage of crop rotation; and
Agronomic approaches to maintain the crops in a rotation.
Soil Fertility and Nutrient
Management 1 . INTRODUCTION
As we know, in organic farming crops are raised without any chemical
supplement. The soil nutrient deficiencies and pest problems are alleviated by
adopting nature pro techniques. In this line, the Crop Rotation is an important
tool.

Now, let us define Crop Rotation. The Crop rotation is stated as growing one
crop after another on the same piece of land in different timings (seasons) without
impairing the soil fertility. It is a planned order of planting specific crops on the
same field. Crop rotation also means that succeeding crops are of a different
genus, species, subspecies or variety than previous crop. Examples would be
legume after wheat, row crops after small grains, cereals after legumes, etc. The
planned rotation sequence may be for a two- or three-year or longer period. The
crop rotations have been found to be beneficial for the soil and farmers in different
ways. There are significant impact of rotating the crops on crop yield, soil fertility
and socio-economic condition of the f m e r . We shall see an elaboration on
these aspects later in this Unit. One immediate economic benefit of crop rotations
is improved yields.

Some soils are so rich in fertility that they can sustain continuous mono cropping
with reasonably higher yields. But the researches have shown that after some
time, the yield of the crop start declining. The mono cropping leads to a number
of problems related to the soil, pest and resource utilization and pest management.
A well developed plan that can be altered when necessary should always be
followed. Otherwise, the desired crop sequence may be interrupted and the
maximum benefits of the rotational effect will not be obtained.

Let us discuss the different aspects of crop rotation in detail.

PRINCIPLES OF CROP ROTATION

Soil is the base for crop plant growth and development. Successful crop husbandry
depends on the choice of right crop on the right soil.

In deciding sequence of crops in a rotation, soil types, fertility and its health,
crop rooting habit, inputs availability and their prices, agro-climatic and socio-
economic conditions of the farmer, farmers' skill and knowledge should be taken
into consideration.

With this background, let us examine the principles of crop rotation. The crop
ration aims at helping the farmers in different ways. The basic principles of
crop rotation are as follows:
Deep rooted crops should be succeeded by shallow rooted crops such as
cotton, castor, pigeon pea-potato, lentil, green gram etc.
Dicot crops should be rotated by monocot crops such as, mustard, potato-
rice, wheat- sugarcane.
Leguminous crops should be succeeded by non-leguminous crops and vice
versa (green gram- wheat).
 Exhaustive crops should be succeeded with restorative crops such as potato, Crop Rotation
sorghum, sugarcane, castor -sun hemp, black gram, cowpea.
Foliage drop crop should be succeeded with non foliage drop crops such as
pulses, cotton-rice.
Grain crops should be followed by foliage crops such as, wheat- dhaincha,
black gram.
Long duration crops should be succeeded by short duration crops such as
sugarcane, napier, lucerne-cowpea, black gram, groundnut.
Field crops should be succeeded with fodder crops such as wheat, potato
maize + cowpea- berseem.
Seed crop should be succeeded with multi-cut or multi-harvest crops such
as black gram, wheat, barley-lucerne, berseem and oat.
Minimum tillage crops should be followed by deep tillage crops such as
green gram, black gram-sugarcane, potato.
Dry crops should be followed by wet crops such as rice and sugarcane.
Crops susceptible to soil borne pathogens and parasitic weeds should be
followed by tolerant trap crops such as sugarcane-marigold (for nematodes)
mustard, tobacco-rice,pulses (for orobanche), pearl millet-castor (for striga),
Lucerne, berseem - oats (for cuscuta).
Crops with problematic weeds should be followed by clean crops/multi cut
crops and other dissimilar crops such as wheat - puddle rice for Phalaris
minor, berseem - potato for Chicorium intybus, rice - vegetables for
Echinochloa crusgalli.
Pasture crops should be followed by fodder or seed crops such as Napier
grass - maize + cowpea or oat.
Heavy irrigation and intensive labour requiring corps should be followed
by less water and labour requiring crops such as sugarcane, paddy- mungbean
and sesame.
L
Soil fertility status also has a role in selecting crops for rotation. Growing of
fertility restorative crops in rotation has immense importance. Low fertile soils
are not found suitable for crops like maize, potato, cauliflower. Similarly, if
sesame is grown in high fertile soil, the flowering will remain at the apex or
terminal point, and then there will not be synchronous pod,capsule maturity.
The lower most capsules may ripen early and dehisce before harvested. Lodging
prone crops should not be grown in high fertile soils.

The objectives of the crop rotation are to:

Achieve better soil fertility and its physical, chemical and biological
properties through addition of organic matters.
Keep the soil free from disease, pest and weed through various crop and
agronomical/cultural manipulations.
Soil Fertility and Nutrient Regulate continuous supply of food, feed, fodder, fibre and fuel as well as
Management
funds for various family commitments.
Make best use of residual soil moisture and nutrients by selective crops.
Achieve greater insurance against natural calamities and instability in market
prices.
Make best use of labour power and capital through out the year.
Achieve higher yield without incurring extra expenditure.

1.3 EFFECTS OF CROP ROTATION

After having learnt the principles and objectives of crop rotation, now let us
examine the impact of rotation on various aspects in detail.

1.31 Balanced and Economic Nutrient Absorption

In a crop rotation, essential plant nutrients are absorbed by the crop plants in a
balanced manner, as the nutrient requirement of crops are different, some taking
up more of one kind of nutrient than another. Aprocess of single sided depletion
may therefore take place, unless a change of crops or rotation js practiced. The
difference in the crop uptake of nutrient is sown in the following Table.

Table 1.1: Nutrient Removal by Different Crops

Crops Nutrient Removal (kglha)
N '2'5 K2°

Sugarcane 56 68 190
Wheat 48 21 29
Tobacco 100 16 150
Potato 67 24 77
Further, the higher productive crops generally remove higher amount of nutrients.
Therefore, to achieve the targeted higher yield, application of higher amount of
manure is required. Considerable quantities of unused manure remain as residue
in the soil. If a crop performs poor or fails due to any reason, it is unable to
utilize the applied nutrients. Such unutilized nutrients persist in soil as residue
and can be taken up by the succeeding crop. Hence, the succeeding crop should
be selected in the manner so that it can utilize considerable amounts of residual
and instant resources fully.

1.3.2 Soil Fertility and Health Build Up

We know, that different crop plants are having different rooting systems. Some
crop plant's roots spread both in depth and in lateral areas, other's root may be
straight deep or shallow, spreading in all directions, and others with roots
crowding in certain zones in the soil. These differences in rooting system lead to
the absorption of essential nutrients from different depths jn the soil. Thus,
growing of the same crop year after year on the same field will lead to the
impoverishment of particular depths, where as growing crops with different root Crop Rotation
system in alternate years will lead to effective utilization of the plant nutrients
in the soil. Alternating shallow with a deep rooted crop may be regarded as a
method of soil restoration, because the soil nutrients are lifted from lower layer
to upper layer by the action of roots.
Soil digging is a method of harvesting of crops like Groundnut, Potato, Garlic,
Onion etc. The digging benefits the succeeding crop, as it kills many weeds,
insect pests and diseases. It also helps pulverize the soil, improve soil aeration
and hasten the decomposition process. Soil seed bank is also disturbed. It also
helps in improving the soil tilth or soil friability.
Now let us examine the other aspe~tof crop rotation benefiting the soil.

1.3.3 Legume Effect

Some crops are directly beneficial to the succeeding crops in more than one
ways. The legume crops are in this category. The legumes assimilating nitrogen
from the atmosphere and enriching the soil with their root system, forms an
important component in the rotation. The crop residues of such crops are also
available for the succeeding non-leguminous and other crops grown in the
rotation. The protein content of the legume residues are high, hence preferred by
the microbes which decomposes the residues readily.

1.3.4 Reduction in Insect Pest Build Up

Insects can be controlled entirely or partially by rotations. The insect populations
go up within a cropping system where only one or two crops are continuously
grown over the time. The insects are able to develop a kind of parasitic relationship
with the crop plants and perpetuate till the system is changed by alteration with
crops. The feeding habit and habitat of the insects are destroyed by rotations.
Insects such as maize borer and stem weevil readily migrate to nearby or distant
fields in absence of maize. In such cases, only partial control can be obtained by
rotation. Increasing field isolation from fields seeded with the same crop, help
controlling of insects. Some of the examples of insect control through crop
rotation are as follows:

Table 1.2: Insects Controlled Partially or Entirely by Rotation

Insect Susceptible Crop
Wheat stem sawfly Wheat, rye
Wheat stem maggot Wheat
Hessian fly Wheat
Alfalfa weevil Alfalfa
Sweet clover weevil Sweet clover
Sunflower insects: moth, banded moth, Sunflower, cultivated and wild
stem weevil, midge and beetle
Maize root worm Maize
Sugarbeet, maggot and root aphid Sugarbeet
Michael D. Peel (1998)
Soil Fertility and Nutrient Reduction in pest incidence in crops under any rotation may be the result of :
Management
Enhanced predator and parasitoid population.
Availability of alternate food for natural enemies.
Reduced colonization and reproduction of pests.
Masking and feeding inhibition from non host plants.
Prevention of pest movement.
Development of optimum synchrony between pests and natural enemies are
some of the ways which effectively control the incidence of insects and
pests.
Intercropping systems are also found very effective for pest reduction.
Inclusion of aromatic plants such as garlic, onion and tomato can disturb pest
orientation to the crop plants. For example: Garlic as an intercrop with
sugarcane effectively controls sugarcane top borer. Cowpea intercropped with
sorghum reduces sorghum stem borer infestation. Coriander with sugarcane
reduces top borer in sugarcane. Change in planting date also affects pest
population. For example: maize planted 20 to 30 days earlier reduced leaf
hopper population.

1.3.5 Weed Management

Rotating crops helps in weed management. There are certain weed species
that are associated with a particular crop. The micro-climate of the crop is
favourable to weeds. Such weeds are called crop bound weeds. In the long
term, these weeds cause severe damage to the crop yield. If the particular crop
is unavailable, the weeds also disappear. These weeds can be eradicated by
adopting crop rotation.

Crops sown under rotation have to be selected in such a way that they are
able to suppress the weeds. For example: Johnson grass (Sorghum helpanse)
becomes a problematic weed in continuous sorghum cultivation, which can be
controlled by putting a pulse crops in the rotation. 'Sugarcane-wheat' system
in place of 'rice-wheat' brings down Little Canary Grass (Phalaris minor)
infestation. Nutsedge (Cyperus spp.) can be managed by adopting 'sesame-
wheat' rotation. Orobanche can be controlled by replacing mustard and
tobacco by some cereal crops. The differential rooting pattern of the crop in
a rotation also helps in depleting the weed seed bank.

1.3.6 Crop Disease Management

Crop rotations are suitable agronomic system to reduce disease infestations in
different crops. Crop rotation can reduce the inoculum of many pathogens.
There are many examples where crop rotations are an important tool for
disease management in different crops. Maize-Cowpea intercropping can
reduce Ascochyla phaseolerum. Pigeon pea wilt caused by Fusarium oxysporum
f. sp. udum can be minimized when it is intercropped with sorghum. Some
examples of crop rotation as an important tool to manage different plant
diseases are given below:
 Table 1.3: Common Disease Controlled Entirely or Partially by Rotation Crop Rotation

Disease Major Crops Attacked Best Control Methods

Common root rot wheat, barley, grasses Rotation, seed treatment
Ergot rye, wheat, grasses Rotation, tillage
Bacterial blights wheat, barley, grasses, rye Rotation
Scab wheat, barley, maize, rye Rotation
Tan spot wheat, durum Rotation, fungicide
Net blotch barley Rotation, fungicide
Septoria wheat, barley, Rotation,
(different species) fungicide
Septoria (different species) wheat, Rotation, fungicide
Septoria (different species) barley, Rotation, fungicide
Pasmo flax Rotation, variety
Wilt (flax) flax Rotation, variety
Rust (flax) flax Resistant Variety, Rotation
Seedling blight wheat, barley, maize, Seed treatment
oats, rye
Smut (malze) maize Rotation
Bacterial wilt alfalfa Variety resistance
Crown rot alfalfa Variety resistance
Verticilliumwilt potato, sunflower, safflower Rotation, variety
Rust (sunflower) sunflower Variety, rotation
Sclerotinia (white mold) sunflower, dry beans Rotation for 4 to 5 years
safflower, soybean, potato,
canola
From Michael D. Peel (1998)

1.3.7 Efficient Resource Utilization

As you know, crops in a rotation differ in their nature, resource requirement and
resource utilization. The natural resources such as water, space, land, family
labour and sunlight are efficiently utilized through proper crop planning.

1.3.8 Soil Moisture Utilization

The soil moisture is properly utilized by rotating the crops. The deep rooted
I crops such as sunflower may utilize soil moisture from deeper soil layers. In
I contrast, the shallow rooted crops utilize the soil moisture from shallow layers.
I In another way, the varied root structure and spread allows more water percolation
1
! and conservation at different soil depths.

1.3.9 Reduction in Soil Erosion

Crop rotation with recommended packages of practices reduces wind and water
soil erosion. Direct seeded (broadcast) crops such as small grain crops provide
Soil Fertility and Nutrient better protection against water erosion than row crops. Different crops make
Management
available their residues throughout the year and hence, protect the soil by the
action of mulching.

1.3.10 Income Stability

Growing different crops in different seasons provides contingency income. If
something goes wrong with any crop, the next crop would help mitigate the
loss.

1.3.11 Time Management

The crops in a rotation have different input requirements, application schedules
and expense demand. Their maturity time also differs. This helps the farmer to
manage his timepto look after different crops efficiently. The occupancy of family
members in different farm and domestic works is ensured efficiently.

1.3.12 Machinery Efficiency

Different crops in different seasons keep the machine with the farmers active in
operation. Their full engagement and availability in the operation get ensured.

Check Your Progress Exercise 1

Note: a) Space is given below for the answer.
b) Compare your answer with that given at the end of the unit.
1) What do you mean by crop rotation?

2) What are the objectives of any crop rotation?

.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
 How rotation help in balanced nutrient absorption? Crop Rotation
3)

1.4 FARMERS SKILL

In adopting suitable crop rotations in organic farming, farmers should have a
sound understanding of the different aspects of crop and crop rotation. A farmer
is the ultimate user of any technology at the farm. Helshe is also the decision
maker at the field level. The skill and knowledge of farmers are of prime
importance in acquiring, adopting and inventing new ideas suitable to his farming
eco-system.

Majority of Indian farmers get the major share of income from crop production.
Therefore, it is very much important to select the right crop, in the right season
so that maximum profit may be achieved. In selecting a crop for a season, both
post and pre season crops should also to be examined.
-

1.5 CROP ROTATIONS AFTER GREEN

REVOLUTION
With the advent of high yielding and photo and thermo insensitive varieties,
almost all crops can be grown in all seasons. This leads to perpetuation of insect
pest and diseases and other formidable enemies of crop plants. For example:
continuous cultivation of groundnut, cotton, and chickpea has given rise to serious
pests and diseases like white grubs, pink bollwom, wilt or premature drying
and also pod borer which is a serious pests for many crops. The crop plants
possess their defense mechanism but it gets broken because of faulty agronomic
I
I practices and repeated sowing of same crop year after year on the same piece of
land. Such practice is the root cause of many problems like weeds, insect pests
i disease build up and soil [Link] is well documented as Phagocytic Theory
of soil fertility that some of the crops secrete certain substances which can attract
or repel one or other bioagents in the soil and can be useful or harmful to the
crops.
-
After the Green Revolution, 'rice-wheat' rotation expanded in the larger areas
of the country. The practice of growing rice and wheat continuously for longer
I period of time resulted in decline in yields of both the crops. Before the Green
Revolution, farmers were growing some legume crops or sometimes the field is
left as fallow in the rotation which kept soil healthy.
SoilFe*ility and Nutrient Post Green Revolution witnessed more- spread of 'rice-wheat' rotation in the
Management
country, particularly in Indo-Gangetic plain zone. Due to continuous adoption
of the same rotation, several problems have propped up. The weed and pest
problems got aggravated. This led to the decline in the yields of both the crops.
Canary grass (Phalaris minor) in wheat and Jungle rice (Echinochloa colona) in
rice become the problematic weeds if rice-wheat rotation continues for many
years and causes significant yield reductions in both the crops.

1.6 AGRONOMICAL PRACTICES FOR

CROPPING SYSTEM
Agronomical practices include all management practices required for raising
crops either in isolation or in rotations. Agronomic practices involve : land
preparation, application of manures, scheduling and application of irrigation,
and methods of plant protection including weed management, plant population
management and crop geometry. These practices are affected by the soil types,
climate and socio-economicstatus. Requirement and resource availawe influence
the selection of crops. Let us discuss the agronomic practices in detail.

1.61 Land Preparation

We all may agree that appropriate tillage is needed to establish an ideal zone
(tilth) for the crops. The ideal zone minimizes the stress and provide a favorable
condition for the seed germination and subsequent plant growth. Potential stresses
include moisture stress (excess or inadequate), unfavourable temperature, soil
crustinglimpedance,pests, pathogens, weeds infestation etc. The seedbed should
be prepared in accordance with the crop requirements.

Examples of suitable seedbed may be : puddled field for rice, ridges and furrows
for maize, cotton and vegetables and flat seedbed for many other crops.

Now days, Zero Tillage is being advocated,where wheat is sown after rice crop
without field preparation. As we know, after harvest of rice, the time is short and
if the field is prepared properly, the wheat sowing gets delayed. Delay sowing of
wheat reduces its yield significantly.

The field preparation also includes proper crop residue management. You may
recall that after harvest of any crop, some residues of it are left in the field. It
takes time to get fully decomposed and prior to that it lie over the surface create
physical hindrance in further operations.

In multiple cropping, minimum tillage is preferred due to shortage of time

between two crops. To store and conserve soil moisture, deep tillage is practiced
during monsoon season and shallow tillage is recommended during rabi season.
Deep ploughing is recommended at certain interval also to break the hard pan
which buildup after rigorous machine use.

1.6.2 Manuring
In order to have a better crop yield, the soil should be fertilized properly. In
organic farming, crop nutrient requirement are met through the organic sources
only. Crops differ in their nutrient requirement. So, in a rotation, nitrogen and Crop Rotation
phosphorus rich organic manures should be applied to cereals, phosphorus rich
manures to short duration legumes, potash rich manures to sugarcane and tuber
crops, sulphur rich to the oilseed crops and calcium rich ( like poultry manure)
to groundnut crop.

When rice is grown in the rotations, green manure crops such as sunnhemp or
Dhaincha may be used. The green manure crop is incorporated before their
flower initiation and 10 to 15 days are allowed to decompose it before planting
rice. Biogas slurry and fresh cattle urine can be useful to the crop suffering
nitrogen deficiency. Judicious use of biofertilizers such as Azolla-Blue green
algae, Atotobactor, Azosphirillum, Rhizobium, Phosphorus solubilizing
microorganisms and VAM also recommended.

1.6.3 Water Management

Water management in crop rotation is very important. The general principles
applicable to sole crops will also apply for the crops in rotation. Most o$ the
Kharifcrops are dependent upon monsoon rains. The important aspects of water
management are harvesting of rain water, supplemental irrigation and reduction
in evapotranspiration through various agronomic practices. Scheduling of
imgation at appropriate time with adequate amount of water without water
logging, salinity and alkalinity are some of the irrigation management measures
to be followed for efficient use of water.

1.6.4 Weed, Pest and Disease Management

In a rotation, weeds, pests and diseases should be managed through intercultural
operations. The infested plants should be removed physically and burnt or buried.
Weed biomass after cutting should be spread on the ground to act as mulch. If
rotation is followed properly, these problems remain under control.

1.7 SELECTION OF CROPS IN ROTATIONS

In any rotation, while selecting any crop, the farmer should select the crop or
crop varieties on the basis of following criteria:
1) Adaptable to the local climatic conditions.
2) Have demand in the market.
3) Short duration.
4) Timing of input requirements should differ. -
5) Maturity of crop should match with the market demand.
6 ) Crop demand should match with the available resources.
7) Resistant to pest and diseases.

1.8' ADVANTAGES OF CROP ROTATIONS

These are the following advantages of a crop rotation:
Higher yield with out incurring extra investment.
Soil Fertility and Nutrient Enhanced soil fertility and microbial activities.
Management
Avoid accumulation of toxic substances.
Better utilization of nutrients and soil moisture.
Insurance against natural devastation.
Maintain soil health by avoiding insect pest, diseases and weed problems.
Provide proper labour, power and capital distribution through out the year.
Higher chances to provide diversified commodities.
I

Slow but steady income, which is beneficial to marginal and small farmers.
Deep rooted crops work the soil below plough layer.

DISADVANTAGES OF CROP ROTATIONS

Adopting a crop rotation is always advantageous. However, there are certain ill-
effects of a rotation if it has not properly followed, as listed below:
Repetition of same crops in rotations for many years may nullify long term
benefits and may develop associated weeds and insect pest and diseases.
Difficult to shift to crops of high demand or ethnic requirements.

Check Your Progress Exercise 2

Note: a) Space is given below for the answer.
b) Compare your answer with that given at the end of the unit.
1) What changes took place in crop rotation after Green Revolution in the
country?

2) Elaborate the features of a crop rotation in terms of advantages and

disadvantages citing a suitable example of rotation, preferable from your
area.
 Crop Rotation
1.10 LET US SUM UP
In this Unit, we studied the concept, principles, objectives and implications of
crop rotations. Component crops are selected in a way to up keep soil health and
fertility. Besides, rotation is an important tool to tackle the problems of diseases,
insect pest infestation and weeds. Through rotation, a farmer can utilize his
resources efficiently by managing family labour and putting the farm implements
in optimum use.

Paddy- pulses, bajra-pulses, sorghum - pulses, maize - pulses or clovers,

groundnut - wheat, soybean -mustard are some of the important crop rotations
prevalent in India. There are several small variations of these which are followed
in conjunctions with other crops such as tobacco, potato, cotton, sweet potato,
chilies, vegetables etc.

1.11 KEY WORDS

Solid PlantingISole : One crop variety grown alone in pure stand at normal
Cropping density.
Monoculture : The repetitive growing of the same sole crop on the
same land over the years.
Rotation : The repetitive cultivation of an ordered succession of
crops (or crop and fallow) on the same land (one cycle
may take several years to complete).
Cropping Pattern : The yearly sequence and spatial arrangements of crops
or of the crops and fallow on a given area.
Cropping System : The cropping pattern used on a farm and its interaction
with farm resources, other farm enterprises, and
available technology which determine their make up.
Multiple Cropping : Intensification of cropping in time and space
dimensions. Growing two or more crops in the same
field in a year.
Sequential Cropping : Growing two or more crops in sequence on the same
field per year. The succeeding crop is planted after
the preceding crop has been harvested.
Double Cropping : Growing two crops a year in sequence.
Triple Cropping : Growing three crops a year in sequence.
Intercropping : Growing two or more crops with fixed crop geometry
on the same field at the same time.
Diversified Cropping : A cropping plan in which no single crop contributes
50% or more towards the total crop production or
monetary income annually.
Fallow Land : A land left unfarmed for one or more growing seasons
to kill weeds, make the soil richer.
Mixed Cropping : Growing two or more crops simultaneously without
any set crop geometry.
Soil Fertility and Nutrient Residual Effect : Effect of the previous crop in a sequential cropping
Management
pattern on the productivity of current crop.
Relay Cropping : Seeding or planting of succeeding crop after flowering
and before the harvest of the standing crop. It is
analogous to a relay race where one crop'hands over
the land to the next crop in quick succession e.g.
Maize-potato-wheat-mung.

1.12 FURTHER REFERENCES

Yadav, R.L., Prasad, K. and Dwivedi, B .S.(1998). Cropping System Research
(In) Fifty Years of Agronomic Research in India: Indian Society of Agronomy,
New Delhi: 193-219.
Chatterjee, B.N., Maiti, S and Mandal, B.K. (1989). Cropping System (Theory
and Practice), Oxford and IBH Publishing Co. Pvt. LTD. New Delhi.
Palaniappan, S.P.(1988). Cropping Systems in the Tropics (Principles and
Management).Wiley Eastern Limited. New Delhi and Tamil Nadu Agricultural
University Coimbatore, TN.
Pearson, L.C.(1967). Crop Rotations. (1n)Principles of Agronomy, Affiliated
East-West press PVT. LTD, New Delhi.
Rajasevasakta and Yegna Narayan Aiyer, A.K. (1975). Rotations of Crops (In)
Principles of Crop Husbandry in India. The Bangalore Printing and Publishing
Company Limited, Bangalore, Karnatka.
De, G. C. (1989). Methods of Cropping. (In) Fundamentals of Agronomy.
Oxford and IBH Publishing Co. Pvt. LTD. New Delhi:
Raheja, P.C.(1957). Double Cropping. Indian Agriculture Research Institute,
New DelhL(1.C.A.R. New Delhi).
Reddy, T.Y and Reddi, G.H.S .(1995). Principles of Agronomy. Kalyani
Publishers, New Delhi.
Reddy, S.R.(2000). Cropping System (In) Principles Crop Production. Kalyani
Publishers, New Delhi.

1.13 MODEL ANSWERS

Check Your Progress Exercise 1
1) The crop rotation is growing different crops in different seasons on a
piece of land with an aim to improve the soil fertility and crop yield.
When crops are planted in sequence, the farmer enjoys the diversity of
the products and time of operations in the field. Some of the examples
of the rotations are as : rice-wheat, maize-wheat, sugarcane-wheat, rice-
potato-wheat etc.

2) As we have read in this Unit, the benefits of any crop rotations are many.
Some of the objectives are: meeting the diversified food requirement of
farmer, efficient resource utilization and pest and disease management.
 The rotations also act as assured source of income for the farmers because Crop Rotation
in the event of crop failure, the next crop would yield some income.

3) The crops in a rotation are having different features. Due to their varied
root structure and spread, the crops are able to draw soil nutrient from
different layers in the soil. The soil nutrients which are lying unused,
would be utilized by the other crops of the rotaion.
Check Your Progress Exercise 2

1) After Green Revolution, the spread of photo and thermo-insensitive

varieties of rice and wheat were very much in the country due to their
adoption by the farmers. Previous to this event, the farmers were growing
different crops having the traditional varieties, which were poor yielder.
The 'rice-wheat' rotation spread largely in irrigated areas.

2) Take an example of a crop rotation of your area and visualize the

significance of having many crops on a piece of land in different seasons.
You may discuss with any farmer of your area about the advantages and
disadvantages of adopting a crop rotation.