This chapter provides a step-by-step procedure for planning crop rotations on an individual farm. The procedure is based on methods used by the panel of expert farmers (chapter 2), supplemented with other sources. It distills what experienced growers do, based on experience, knowledge, and intuition, into a systematic method. For the sake of simplicity, the instructions are written as if the person doing the planning is the manager of the farm.
“The rewards of systematic crop rotation planning increase, however, with the number of crops and the complexity of the fields.”
The crop rotation planning procedure works through a series of steps. You will (1) organize your information, (2) develop a general rotation plan (optional), (3) construct a crop rotation planning map, (4) plan future crop sequences for each section of the farm, and (5) refine your crop sequence plan.
The procedure is easiest for a farm that produces only a few crops and has uniform field conditions, but it is most useful for farms with complex operations. Examples of farms with relatively simple rotation problems include most grain farms and some wholesale vegetable operations, where all of the crops can be grown on all of the fields. The procedure can be used to plan rotations with more crops and multiple soil types, but the process is time-consuming. The rewards of systematic crop rotation planning increase, however, with the number of crops and the complexity of the fields. On farms that grow only a few crops, reasonable rotations can be maintained using a few rules of thumb. With a complex operation, however, a long-term problem can develop without the farmer realizing that the rotation practices are suboptimal. Although the planning procedure described below is divided into many steps, it is not complicated. Simply proceed one step at a time, and you will end up with a plan. Besides helping you develop a plan, working through the procedure will likely give you new insights into your farm and how you manage it. It can also serve as a new baseline and record system for your farm.
“Expert growers simplify their planning by building their rotations around short sequences of two or three crops or cover crops.”
The crop rotation planning process becomes more complex if the crop mix is highly diverse, if you plant the same crop multiple times each season, if you double or triple crop fields, or if the fields vary in their ability to grow various crops. For farms that require a complex cropping plan, using Microsoft Excel spreadsheets instead of paper worktables is advised. These can be downloaded at the links below. The files contain a modified version of this chapter in which the instructions are adapted to worksheets rather than paper tables. For any farm, the computer worksheets will simplify data entry and sorting.
Supplements
Crop Rotation Planning Procedure[400K .pdf file] - Instructions for using the following spreadsheets instead of paper planning process.
The procedure described here is not a cookbook recipe. It will not tell you which crop should follow another— for example, to precede a crop with hairy vetch or follow it with potato. Rather, the procedure will help you organize diverse data on the management and biology of the crops you want to grow to define rotations that work for your particular farm. You need to know your fields and your crop mix to use this planner. Only you know the particular goals, problems, and opportunities of your farm operation. The procedure can help you recognize the critical decisions that need to be made, however, and prompt you to make them in a logical order. The worksheets (see instructions and downloads for tables 5.1, 5.2 and 5.3) will help you enter, compare, and sort the information you need to plan a good crop rotation, for each field and for the entire farm.
The crop rotation planning procedure works through a series of steps. You will (1) organize your information, (2) develop a general rotation plan (optional), (3) construct a crop rotation planning map, (4) plan future crop sequences for each section of the farm, and (5) refine your crop sequence plan.
The crop rotation planning procedure works through a series of steps. You will (i) organize your information, (ii) develop a general rotation plan (optional), (iii) construct a crop rotation planning map, (iv) plan future crop sequences for each section of the farm, and (v) refine your crop sequence plan.
By diversifying the types of crops grown, the four-crop rotation method ensures a balanced nutrient profile in the soil. For example, legumes replenish nitrogen levels, while other crops consume these nutrients. By rotating crops, the soil is replenished with specific nutrients while avoiding depletion.
A good example of a three-year rotation includes growing beans (year 1), followed by tomatoes (year 2), and sweet corn (year 3) before planting beans in the same spot again the following year. The best way to ensure proper rotation is by having multiple separated garden plots or beds.
One approach to crop rotation is to divide your plants into these four basic groups: legumes, root crops, fruit crops, and leaf crops. Imagine your garden separated into four areas, as shown in the chart at the top of the page. Each successive year, you would move each group one spot clockwise.
Crop rotation refers to the practice of planting different crops on the same plot of land every growing season. For example, a commercial farmer might plant peas in a field one season, then tomatoes the next. One crop rotation cycle can involve anywhere from two to twelve different crops.
The three-field system is a regime of crop rotation in which a field is planted with one set of crops one year, a different set in the second year, and left fallow in the third year.
There are additional types of crop rotation systems based on the duration and the number of crops grown. Some examples are: One-year rotation: growing two crops in one year. Two-year rotation: growing four crops in two years.
The goal of crop rotation is to reduce the amount of the pest population present in the soil. Some pathogens that cause diseases survive in the soil from year to year in one form or the other, usually as sclerotia, spores, or hyphae. Rotating to non-host crops prevents the buildup of large populations of pathogens.
It broadly discusses appropriate planting dates, knowing the number of days to harvest, and the length of harvest from first to last picking in order to achieve your goals. A “succession planting chart” is attached for you to record actual measurements of the above topics for use in future growing seasons.
These include germination, seedling establishment and root and/or tuber development, juvenility, vegetative branching, floral induction, inflorescence development, gamete production, pollination, development and maturity of fruit and seed (Figure 1).
The stages that plants go through are from seed to sprout, then through vegetative, budding, flowering, and ripening stages. Similarly, the nutritional needs of people and plants change as they grow.
The crop rotation planning procedure works through a series of steps. You will (1) organize your information, (2) develop a general rotation plan (optional), (3) construct a crop rotation planning map, (4) plan future crop sequences for each section of the farm, and (5) refine your crop sequence plan.
Crop rotation is the practice of growing a series of dissimilar or different types of crops in the same area in sequenced seasons. It is done so that the soil of farms is not used for only one set of nutrients.
The production of the crop is done in a particular order which includes steps like ploughing, sowing, adding manures, irrigation, harvesting and the final process includes storage of the raw materials produced. The crop land is first ploughed using various tools and machines.
The three-field system is a regime of crop rotation in which a field is planted with one set of crops one year, a different set in the second year, and left fallow in the third year. A set of crops is rotated from one field to another.
Crop rotation is the practice of growing a series of dissimilar or different types of crops in the same area in sequenced seasons. It is done so that the soil of farms is not used for only one set of nutrients. It helps in reducing soil erosion and increases soil fertility and crop yield.
Introduction: My name is Horacio Brakus JD, I am a lively, splendid, jolly, vivacious, vast, cheerful, agreeable person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
We notice you're using an ad blocker
Without advertising income, we can't keep making this site awesome for you.
