Satellite image of circular crop fields in Haskell County, Kansas in late June 2001. Healthy, growing crops are green. Corn would be growing into leafy stalks by then. Sorghum, which resembles corn, grows more slowly and would be much smaller and therefore, (possibly) paler. Wheat is a brilliant gold as harvest occurs in June. Fields of brown have been recently harvested and plowed under or lie fallow for the year.

Crop rotation is the practice of growing a series of dissimilar types of crops in the same space in sequential seasons to avoid the buildup of pathogens and pests that often occurs when one species is continuously cropped. Crop rotation also seeks to balance the fertility demands of various crops to avoid excessive depletion of soil nutrients. A traditional component of crop rotation is the replenishment of nitrogen through the use of green manure in sequence with cereals and other crops. It is one component of polyculture. Crop rotation can also improve soil structure and fertility by alternating deep-rooted and shallow-rooted plants. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2589x2481, 1365 KB) Summary Licensing File links The following pages link to this file: Agriculture Crop rotation Center pivot irrigation Haskell County, Kansas Ogallala Aquifer Agriculture in the United States Wikipedia:Featured picture candidates Wikipedia:Featured picture candidates/Image:Crops Kansas... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2589x2481, 1365 KB) Summary Licensing File links The following pages link to this file: Agriculture Crop rotation Center pivot irrigation Haskell County, Kansas Ogallala Aquifer Agriculture in the United States Wikipedia:Featured picture candidates Wikipedia:Featured picture candidates/Image:Crops Kansas... Haskell County (standard abbreviation: HS) is a county located in the state of Kansas. ... “Corn” redirects here. ... Species About 30 species, see text Sorghum is a genus of about 30 species of grasses raised for grain, native to tropical and subtropical regions of Eastern Africa, with one species native to Mexico. ... Species T. aestivum T. boeoticum T. compactum T. dicoccoides T. dicoccon T. durum T. monococcum T. spelta T. sphaerococcum T. timopheevii References:   ITIS 42236 2002-09-22 For the indie rock group see: Wheat (band). ... A crop is any plant that is grown in significant quantities to be harvested as food, livestock fodder, or for another economic purpose. ... A pathogen (literally birth of pain from the Greek παθογένεια) is a biological agent that can cause disease to its host. ... General Name, Symbol, Number nitrogen, N, 7 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 15, 2, p Appearance colorless gas Standard atomic weight 14. ... In agriculture, a green manure is a type of cover crop grown primarily to add nutrients and organic matter to the soil. ... Polyculture is agriculture using multiple crops in the same space, in imitation of the diversity of natural ecosystems, and avoiding large stands of single crops, or monoculture. ... Soil structure is determined by how individual soil granules clump or bind together and aggregate. ... Soil fertility is the characteristic of soil that supports abundant plant life. ...

Method and purpose

Crop rotation avoids a decrease in soil fertility, as growing the same crop repeatedly in the same place eventually depletes the soil of various nutrients. A crop that leaches the soil of one kind of nutrient is followed during the next growing season by a dissimilar crop that returns that nutrient to the soil or draws a different ratio of nutrients, for example, rices followed by cottons. By crop rotation farmers can keep their fields under continuous production, without the need to let them lie fallow, and reducing the need for artificial fertilizers, both of which can be expensive. Farmlands in Hebei province, China. ... suck my shlong dick cause soil is my life pedosphere is positioned at the interface of the lithosphere and biosphere with the atmosphere and hydrosphere. ... A nutrient is either a chemical element or compound used in an organisms metabolism or physiology. ... A green field or paddock In agriculture, a field refers generally to an area of land enclosed or otherwise and used for agricultural purposes such as: Cultivating crops Usage as a paddock or generally an enclosure of livestock Land left to lie fallow or as arable land See also Pasture... Spreading manure, an organic fertilizer Fertilizers (British English fertilisers) are compounds given to plants to promote growth; they are usually applied either via the soil, for uptake by plant roots, or by foliar feeding, for uptake through leaves. ...

Legumes, plants of the family Fabaceae, for instance, have nodules on their roots which contain nitrogen-fixing bacteria. It therefore makes good sense agriculturally to alternate them with cereals (family Poaceae) and other plants that require nitrates. A common modern crop rotation is alternating soybeans and maize (corn). In subsistence farming, it also makes good nutritional sense to grow beans and grain at the same time in different fields. Varieties of soybean seeds, a popular legume The term legume has two closely related meanings in botany, a situation encountered with many botanical common names of useful plants whereby an applied name can refer to either the plant itself, or to the edible fruit (or useful part). ... Subfamilies Faboideae Caesalpinioideae Mimosoideae References GRIN-CA 2002-09-01 The name Fabaceae belongs to either of two families, depending on viewpoint. ... Primary and secondary roots in a cotton plant In vascular plants, the root is that organ of a plant body that typically lies below the surface of the soil (compare with stem). ... Nitrogen fixation is the process by which nitrogen is taken from its relatively inert molecular form (N2) in the atmosphere and converted into nitrogen compounds (such as, notably, ammonia, nitrate and nitrogen dioxide)[1] useful for other chemical processes. ... Phyla/Divisions Actinobacteria Aquificae Bacteroidetes/Chlorobi Chlamydiae/Verrucomicrobia Chloroflexi Chrysiogenetes Cyanobacteria Deferribacteres Deinococcus-Thermus Dictyoglomi Fibrobacteres/Acidobacteria Firmicutes Fusobacteria Gemmatimonadetes Nitrospirae Omnibacteria Planctomycetes Proteobacteria Spirochaetes Thermodesulfobacteria Thermomicrobia Thermotogae Bacteria (singular, bacterium) are a major group of living organisms. ... Subfamilies There are 7 subfamilies: Subfamily Arundinoideae Subfamily Bambusoideae Subfamily Centothecoideae Subfamily Chloridoideae Subfamily Panicoideae Subfamily Pooideae Subfamily Stipoideae The true grasses are monocotyledonous plants (Class Liliopsida) in the Family Poaceae, also known as Gramineae. ... Nitrates are the salts of nitric acid. ... Binomial name Glycine max (L.) Merr. ... “Corn” redirects here. ... Like most farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa, this Cameroonian man cultivates at the subsistence level. ...

Crop rotation is also used to control pests and diseases that can become established in the soil over time. Plants within the same taxonomic family tend to have similar pests and pathogens. By regularly changing the planting location, the pest cycles can be broken or limited. For example, root-knot nematode is a serious problem for some plants in warm climates and sandy soils, where it slowly builds up to high levels in the soil, and can severely damage plant productivity by cutting off circulation from the plant roots. Growing a crop that is not a host for root-knot nematode for one season greatly reduces the level of the nematode in the soil, thus making it possible to grow a susceptible crop the following season without needing soil fumigation. A family in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso in 1997 A family consists of a domestic group of people (or a number of domestic groups), typically affiliated by birth or marriage, or by analogous or comparable relationships — including domestic partnership, cohabitation, adoption, surname and (in some cases) ownership (as occurred in the... Larva of root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne incognita, magnified 500X, shown here penetrating a tomato root Root-knot nematodes are plant-parasitic nematodes from the genus Meloigogyne. ... Fumigation is a method of pest control that completely fills an area with gaseous pesticides to suffocate or poison the pests within. ...

It is also difficult to control weeds similar to the crop which may contaminate the final produce. For instance, ergot in weed grasses is difficult to separate from harvested grain. A different crop allows the weeds to be eliminated, breaking the ergot cycle. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Species About 50, including: Claviceps africanum Claviceps fusiformis Claviceps paspali Claviceps purpurea Ergot is the common name of a fungus in the genus Claviceps that is parasitic on certain grains and grasses. ... A cycle (Latin cyclus, from Greek kuklos meaning circle) is anything round, in the physical sense (e. ...

This principle is of particular use in organic farming, where pest control may be achieved without synthetic pesticides. Organic cultivation of mixed vegetables in Capay, California. ... Predatory Polistes wasp looking for bollworms or other caterpillars on a cotton plant Biological control of pests and diseases is a method of controlling pests and diseases in agriculture that relies on natural predation rather than introduced chemicals. ...

A general effect of crop rotation is that there is a geographic mixing of crops, which can slow the spread of pests and diseases during the growing season. The different crops can also reduce the effects of adverse weather for the individual farmer and, by requiring planting and harvest at different times, allow more land to be farmed with the same amount of machinery and labor.

The choice and sequence of rotation crops depends on the nature of the soil, the climate, and precipitation which together determine the type of plants that may be cultivated. Other important aspects of farming such as crop marketing and economic variables must also be considered when choosing a crop rotation. suck my shlong dick cause soil is my life pedosphere is positioned at the interface of the lithosphere and biosphere with the atmosphere and hydrosphere. ...

History

Crop rotation was already mentioned in the Roman literature, and referred to by great civilizations in Africa and Asia. From the end of the Middle Ages until the 20th century, the three-year rotation was practiced by farmers in Europe with a rotation of rye or winter wheat, followed by spring oats or barley, then letting the soil rest (fallowomen) during the third stage. The fact that suitable rotations made it possible to restore or to maintain a productive soil has long been recognized by planting spring crops for livestock in place of grains for human consumption. Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew from a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula circa the 9th century BC to a massive empire straddling the Mediterranean Sea. ... A world map showing the continent of Africa Africa is the worlds second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. ... World map showing the location of Asia. ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999... Binomial name Secale cereale M.Bieb. ... Species T. aestivum T. boeoticum T. compactum T. dicoccoides T. dicoccon T. durum T. monococcum T. spelta T. sphaerococcum T. timopheevii References:   ITIS 42236 2002-09-22 For the indie rock group see: Wheat (band). ... Binomial name Avena sativa Carolus Linnaeus (1753) The Oat (Avena sativa) is a species of cereal grain, and the seeds of this plant. ... Binomial name Hordeum vulgare L. Barley (Hordeum vulgare) is a cereal grain, which serves as a major animal feed crop, with smaller amounts used for malting and in health food. ...

Crop rotation in the fourteenth century was considerably more widespread after John Lloyd invented the patent crop rotator.

A four-field rotation was pioneered by farmers, namely in the region Waasland in the early 16th century and popularised by the British agriculturist Charles Townshend in the 18th century. The system (wheat, barley, turnips and clover), opened up a fodder crop and grazing crop allowing livestock to be bred year-round. The four-field crop rotation was a key development in the British Agricultural Revolution. The Waasland is a region in Flanders, Belgium, although without any administrative functions. ... Charles Townshend Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount Townshend (April 18, 1674–June 21, 1738), was an English statesman. ... (17th century - 18th century - 19th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701 through 1800. ... Trinomial name Brassica rapa rapa L. For similar vegetables also called turnip, see Turnip (disambiguation). ... Species See text Clover is my sisters name! Clover (Trifolium) is a genus of about 300 species of plants in the pea family Fabaceae. ... Sheep are commonly bred as livestock. ... The Four-field crop rotation is a method of farming in which the plot of land is split up into four seconds. ... The British Agricultural Revolution describes a period of agricultural development in Britain between the 16th century and the mid-19th century, which saw a massive increase in agricultural productivity and net output. ...

Contrary to the widespread myth, crop rotation was not pioneered in the United States by George Washington Carver. Carver merely taught the standard technique to poor black farmers as part of his extension education program. In the Green revolution, the practice of crop rotation gave way in some parts of the world to the practice of simply adding the necessary chemical inputs to the depleted soil, e.g., replacing organic nitrogen with ammonium nitrate or urea and restoring soil pH with lime. However, disadvantages of monoculture from the standpoint of sustainable agriculture have since become apparent. George Washington Carver, 1906 George Washington Carver (c. ... The Green Revolution is a term used to describe the transformation of agriculture in many developing nations that led to significant increases in agricultural production between the 1940s and 1960s. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Urea is an organic compound of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and hydrogen, with the formula CON2H4 or (NH2)2CO. Urea is also known as carbamide, especially in the recommended International Nonproprietary Names (rINN) in use in Europe. ... The correct title of this article is . ... Monoculture describes systems that have very low diversity. ... Sustainable agriculture integrates three main goals: environmental stewardship, farm profitability, and prosperous farming communities. ...

Examples of crop rotation

Agriculture

Note: translation in progress from Dutch. Please contribute!

red=bad; orange=acceptable; yellow=very good; green=good
insects are Crane fly, Click beetle and caterpillars
Diseases are fungi
structure is structure decomposition. Genera Over 14,000 The crane flies are a family (Tipulidae) of insects resembling giant mosquitoes. ... Genera Click beetles (family Elateridae), sometimes called elaters, Skipjack, Snapping, or Spring Beetle, are distinguished by the unique click sound they produce. ... Caterpillar of the Emperor Gum Moth A caterpillar is the larval form of a lepidopteran (a member of the insect order comprised of butterflies and moths). ...

Binomial name Beta vulgaris L. Beta vulgaris, commonly known as beet is a flowering plant species in the family Chenopodiaceae. ... Binomial name Pisum sativum L. A pea is the small, edible round green bean which grows in a pod on the leguminous vine Pisum sativum, or in some cases to the immature pods. ... Lucerne is: Places Switzerland Lucerne (in German Luzern), capital of the Canton of Lucerne on Lake Lucerne (in German: Vierwaldstättersee). ... Sveti Vlas (Свети Влас, Saint Blaise) is a resort town on the Black Sea coast of Bulgaria, located in Nesebar municipality, Burgas Province. ... Jacques Rogge Count Jacques Rogge (born May 2, 1942) is by profession an orthopedic surgeon. ...

Vegetable cultivation

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See also

• Dryland farming, a specific form of crop rotation applicable to areas with limited precipitation.
• The Dutch (Nederlands) article on crop rotation has excellent illustrations (use of an internet-dictionary recommended).
• Set-aside is the modern name given to the practice of fallowing agricultural land.

Dryland farming is an agricultural technique for cultivating land which receives little rainfall. ... Set-Aside in the EU, will be updated as i update my IPM from another editor (i also am doing an ipm and shall add it on here) 1. ...

External links

• Cyclopedia of American Agriculture ed. by L. H. Bailey (1911), Vol. II--Crops, Chapter V "Crop Management," primarily the history and theory of crop rotation.