Crop rotation

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sources remain unclear because it has Learn
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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.
Growing the same crop in the same place
for many years in a row (monocropping)
gradually depletes the soil of certain
nutrients. With rotation, 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. In addition, crop rotation
mitigates the buildup of pathogens and
pests that often occurs when one species
is continuously cropped, and can also
improve soil structure and fertility by
increasing biomass from varied root
structures.
Crop cycle is used in both conventional
and organic farming systems.

History
Agriculturalists have long recognized that
suitable rotations—such as planting spring
crops for livestock in place of grains for
human consumption—make it possible to
restore or to maintain a productive soil.
Middle Eastern farmers practiced crop
rotation in 6000 BC without understanding
the chemistry, alternately planting legumes
and cereals.[1] In the Bible, chapter 25 of
the Book of Leviticus instructs the
Israelites to observe a "Sabbath of the
Land". Every seventh year they would not
till, prune or even control insects.[2]

Two-field system

Under a two-field rotation, half the land

was planted in a year, while the other half
lay fallow. Then, in the next year, the two
fields were reversed. From the times of
Charlemagne (died 814), farmers in
Europe transitioned from a two-field crop
rotation to a three-field crop rotation.

Three-field system
From the end of the Middle Ages until the
20th century, Europe's farmers practiced
three-field rotation, dividing available lands
into three parts. One section was planted
in the autumn with rye or winter wheat,
followed by spring oats or barley; the
second section grew crops such as peas,
lentils, or beans; and the third field was left
fallow. The three fields were rotated in this
manner so that every three years, a field
would rest and be fallow. Under the two-
field system, if one has a total of 600
acres (2.4 km2) of fertile land, one would
only plant 300 acres. Under the new three-
field rotation system, one would plant (and
therefore harvest) 400 acres. But the
additional crops had a more significant
effect than mere quantitative productivity.
Since the spring crops were mostly
legumes, they increased the overall
nutrition of the people of Northern Europe.

Four-field rotation

Farmers in the region of Waasland (in

present-day northern Belgium) pioneered a
four-field rotation in the early 16th century,
and the British agriculturist Charles
Townshend (1674–1738) popularised this
system in the 18th century. The sequence
of four crops (wheat, turnips, barley and
clover), included a fodder crop and a
grazing crop, allowing livestock to be bred
year-round. The four-field crop rotation
became a key development in the British
Agricultural Revolution. The rotation
between arable and ley is sometimes
called ley farming.

Modern developments

George Washington Carver (1860s–1943)

studied crop-rotation methods in the
United States, teaching southern farmers
to rotate soil-depleting crops like cotton
with soil-enriching crops like peanuts and
peas.
In the Green Revolution of the mid-20th
century the traditional practice of crop
rotation gave way in some parts of the
world to the practice of supplementing the
chemical inputs to the soil through
topdressing with fertilizers, adding (for
example) ammonium nitrate or urea and
restoring soil pH with lime. Such practices
aimed to increase yields, to prepare soil
for specialist crops, and to reduce waste
and inefficiency by simplifying planting
and harvesting, irrigation .

Crop choice
A preliminary assessment of crop
interrelationships can be found in how
each crop: (1) contributes to soil organic
matter (SOM) content, (2) provides for
pest management, (3) manages deficient
or excess nutrients,(4) how it contributes
to or controls for soil erosion, (5)
interbreeds with other crops to produce
hybrid offspring, and (6) impacts
surrounding food webs and field
ecosystems.[3]

Crop choice is often related to the goal the

farmer is looking to achieve with the
rotation, which could be weed
management, increasing available
nitrogen in the soil, controlling for erosion,
or increasing soil structure and biomass,
to name a few.[4] When discussing crop
rotations, crops are classified in different
ways depending on what quality is being
assessed: by family, by nutrient
needs/benefits, and/or by profitability (i.e.
cash crop versus cover crop).[5] For
example, giving adequate attention to
plant family is essential to mitigating
pests and pathogens. However, many
farmers have success managing rotations
by planning sequencing and cover crops
around desirable cash crops.[6] The
following is a simplified classification
based on crop quality and purpose.
Row crops

Many crops which are critical for the

market, like vegetables, are row crops (that
is, grown in tight rows).[5] While often the
most profitable for farmers, these crops
are more taxing on the soil.[5] Row crops
typically have low biomass and shallow
roots: this means the plant contributes low
residue to the surrounding soil and has
limited effects on structure.[7] With much
of the soil around the plant exposed to
disruption by rainfall and traffic, fields with
row crops experience faster break down of
organic matter by microbes, leaving fewer
nutrients for future plants.[7]
In short, while these crops may be
profitable for the farm, they are nutrient
depleting. Crop rotation practices exist to
strike a balance between short-term
profitability and long-term productivity.[6]

Legumes

A great advantage of crop rotation comes

from the interrelationship of nitrogen-fixing
crops with nitrogen-demanding crops.
Legumes, like alfalfa and clover, collect
available nitrogen from the soil in nodules
on their root structure.[8] When the plant is
harvested, the biomass of uncollected
roots breaks down, making the stored
nitrogen available to future crops.
Legumes are also a valued green manure:
a crop that collects nutrients and fixes
them at soil depths accessible to future
crops.[9]

In addition, legumes have heavy tap roots

that burrow deep into the ground, lifting
soil for better tilth and absorption of water.

Grasses and cereals

Cereal and grasses are frequent cover

crops because of the many advantages
they supply to soil quality and structure.
The dense and far-reaching root systems
give ample structure to surrounding soil
and provide significant biomass for soil
organic matter.

Grasses and cereals are key in weed

management as they compete with
undesired plants for soil space and
nutrients.

Green manure

Green manure is a crop that is mixed into

the soil. Both nitrogen-fixing legumes and
nutrient scavengers, like grasses, can be
used as green manure.[8] Green manure of
legumes is an excellent source of nitrogen,
especially for organic systems, however,
legume biomass doesn't contribute to
lasting soil organic matter like grasses
do.[8]

Planning a rotation
There are numerous factors that must be
taken into consideration when planning a
crop rotation. Planning an effective
rotation requires weighing fixed and
fluctuating production circumstances:
market, farm size, labor supply, climate,
soil type, growing practices, etc.[10]
Moreover, a crop rotation must consider in
what condition one crop will leave the soil
for the succeeding crop and how one crop
can be seeded with another crop.[10] For
example, a nitrogen-fixing crop, like a
legume, should always precede a nitrogen
depleting one; similarly, a low residue crop
(i.e. a crop with low biomass) should be
offset with a high biomass cover crop, like
a mixture of grasses and legumes.[3]

There is no limit to the number of crops

that can be used in a rotation, or the
amount of time a rotation takes to
complete.[7] Decisions about rotations are
made years prior, seasons prior, or even at
the very last minute when an opportunity
to increase profits or soil quality presents
itself.[6] In short, there is no singular
formula for rotation, but many
considerations to take into account.

Implementation
Crop rotation systems may be enriched by
the influences of other practices such as
the addition of livestock and manure,[11]
intercropping or multiple cropping, and
organic management low in pesticides
and synthetic fertilizers.

Incorporation of livestock
Introducing livestock makes the most
efficient use of critical sod and cover
crops; livestock (through manure) are able
to distribute the nutrients in these crops
throughout the soil rather than removing
nutrients from the farm through the sale of
hay.[7]

In Sub-Saharan Africa, as animal

husbandry becomes less of a nomadic
practice many herders have begun
integrating crop production into their
practice. This is known as mixed farming,
or the practice of crop cultivation with the
incorporation of raising cattle, sheep
and/or goats by the same economic entity,
is increasingly common. This interaction
between the animal, the land and the
crops are being done on a small scale all
across this region. Crop residues provide
animal feed, while the animals provide
manure for replenishing crop nutrients and
draft power. Both processes are extremely
important in this region of the world as it
is expensive and logistically unfeasible to
transport in synthetic fertilizers and large-
scale machinery. As an additional benefit,
the cattle, sheep and/or goat provide milk
and can act as a cash crop in the times of
economic hardship.[12]
Organic farming

Crop rotation is a required practice in order

for a farm to receive organic certification
in the United States.[13] The “Crop Rotation
Practice Standard” for the National
Organic Program under the U.S. Code of
Federal Regulations, section §205.205,
states that:

Farmers are required to

implement a crop rotation that
maintains or builds soil organic
matter, works to control pests,
manages and conserves
nutrients, and protects against
 erosion. Producers of perennial
crops that aren’t rotated may
utilize other practices, such as
cover crops, to maintain soil
health.[7]

In addition to lowering the need for inputs

by controlling for pests and weeds and
increasing available nutrients, crop
rotation helps organic growers increase
the amount of biodiversity on their
farms.[7] Biodiversity is also a requirement
of organic certification, however, there are
no rules in place to regulate or reinforce
this standard.[7] Increasing the biodiversity
of crops has beneficial effects on the
surrounding ecosystem and can host a
greater diversity of fauna, insects, and
beneficial microorganism in the soil.[7]
Some studies point to increased nutrient
availability from crop rotation under
organic systems compared to
conventional practices as organic
practices are less likely to inhibit of
beneficial microbes in soil organic
matter.[14]

While multiple cropping and intercropping

benefit from many of the same principals
as crop rotation, they do not satisfy the
requirement under the NOP.[7]
Intercropping

Multiple cropping systems, such as

intercropping or companion planting, offer
more diversity and complexity within the
same season or rotation, for example the
three sisters. An example of companion
planting is the inter-planting of corn with
pole beans and vining squash or
pumpkins. In this system, the beans
provide nitrogen; the corn provides
support for the beans and a "screen"
against squash vine borer; the vining
squash provides a weed suppressive
canopy and a discouragement for corn-
hungry raccoons.[4]
Double-cropping is common where two
crops, typically of different species, are
grown sequentially in the same growing
season, or where one crop (e.g. vegetable)
is grown continuously with a cover crop
(e.g. wheat).[3] This is advantageous for
small farms, who often cannot afford to
leave cover crops to replenish the soil for
extended periods of time, as larger farms
can.[6] When multiple cropping is
implemented on small farms, these
systems can maximize benefits of crop
rotation on available land resources.[6]

Benefits
Agronomists describe the benefits to yield
in rotated crops as "The Rotation Effect".
There are many found benefits of rotation
systems: however, there is no specific
scientific basis for the sometimes 10-25%
yield increase in a crop grown in rotation
versus monoculture. The factors related to
the increase are simply described as
alleviation of the negative factors of
monoculture cropping systems.
Explanations due to improved nutrition;
pest, pathogen, and weed stress reduction;
and improved soil structure have been
found in some cases to be correlated, but
causation has not been determined for the
majority of cropping systems.
Other benefits of rotation cropping
systems include production cost
advantages. Overall financial risks are
more widely distributed over more diverse
production of crops and/or livestock. Less
reliance is placed on purchased inputs and
over time crops can maintain production
goals with fewer inputs. This in tandem
with greater short and long term yields
makes rotation a powerful tool for
improving agricultural systems.

Soil organic matter

The use of different species in rotation

allows for increased soil organic matter
(SOM), greater soil structure, and
improvement of the chemical and
biological soil environment for crops. With
more SOM, water infiltration and retention
improves, providing increased drought
tolerance and decreased erosion.

Soil organic matter is a mix of decaying

material from biomass with active
microorganisms. Crop rotation, by nature,
increases exposure to biomass from sod,
green manure, and a various other plant
debris. The reduced need for intensive
tillage under crop rotation allows biomass
aggregation to lead to greater nutrient
retention and utilization, decreasing the
need for added nutrients.[5] With tillage,
disruption and oxidation of soil creates a
less conducive environment for diversity
and proliferation of microorganisms in the
soil. These microorganisms are what
make nutrients available to plants. So,
where "active" soil organic matter is a key
to productive soil, soil with low microbial
activity provides significantly fewer
nutrients to plants; this is true even though
the quantity of biomass left in the soil may
be the same.

Soil microorganisms also decrease

pathogen and pest activity through
competition. In addition, plants produce
root exudates and other chemicals which
manipulate their soil environment as well
as their weed environment. Thus rotation
allows increased yields from nutrient
availability but also alleviation of
allelopathy and competitive weed
environments.

Carbon sequestration

Studies have shown that crop rotations

greatly increase soil organic carbon (SOC)
content, the main constituent of soil
organic matter.[15] Carbon, along with
hydrogen and oxygen, is a macronutrient
for plants. Highly diverse rotations
spanning long periods of time have shown
to be even more effective in increasing
SOC, while soil disturbances (e.g. from
tillage) are responsible for exponential
decline in SOC levels.[15] In Brazil,
conversion to no-till methods combined
with intensive crop rotations has been
shown an SOC sequestration rate of 0.41
tonnes per hectare per year.[16]

In addition to enhancing crop productivity,

sequestration of atmospheric carbon has
great implications in reducing rates of
climate change by removing carbon
dioxide from the air.
Nitrogen fixing

Rotating crops adds nutrients to the soil.

Legumes, plants of the family Fabaceae,
for instance, have nodules on their roots
which contain nitrogen-fixing bacteria
called rhizobia. During a process called
nodulation, the rhizobia bacteria use
nutrients and water provided by the plant
to convert atmospheric nitrogen into
ammonia, which is then converted into an
organic compound that the plant can use
as its nitrogen source.[17] It therefore
makes good sense agriculturally to
alternate them with cereals (family
Poaceae) and other plants that require
nitrates. How much nitrogen made
available to the plants depends on factors
such as the kind of legume, the
effectiveness of rhizobia bacteria, soil
conditions, and the availability of elements
necessary for plant food.[18]

Pathogen and pest control

Crop rotation is also used to control pests

and diseases that can become established
in the soil over time. The changing of
crops in a sequence decreases the
population level of pests by (1)
interrupting pest life cycles and (2)
interrupting pest habitat.[6] Plants within
the same taxonomic family tend to have
similar pests and pathogens. By regularly
changing crops and keeping the soil
occupied by cover crops instead of lying
fallow, pest cycles can be broken or
limited, especially cycles that benefit from
overwintering in residue.[19] 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.

This principle is of particular use in

organic farming, where pest control must
be achieved without synthetic
pesticides.[11]

Weed management

Integrating certain crops, especially cover

crops, into crop rotations is of particular
value to weed management. These crops
crowd out weed through competition. In
addition, the sod and compost from cover
crops and green manure slows the growth
of what weeds are still able to make it
through the soil, giving the crops further
competitive advantage. By slowing the
growth and proliferation of weeds while
cover crops are cultivated, farmers greatly
reduce the presence of weeds for future
crops, including shallow rooted and row
crops, which are less resistant to weeds.
Cover crops are, therefore, considered
conservation crops because they protect
otherwise fallow land from becoming
overrun with weeds.[19]

This system has advantages over other

common practices for weeds
management, such as tillage. Tillage is
meant to inhibit growth of weeds by
overturning the soil; however, this has a
countering effect of exposing weed seeds
that may have gotten buried and burying
valuable crop seeds. Under crop rotation,
the number of viable seeds in the soil is
reduced through the reduction of the weed
population.

In addition to their negative impact on crop

quality and yield, weeds can slow down
the harvesting process. Weeds make
farmers less efficient when harvesting,
because weeds like bindweeds, and
knotgrass, can become tangled in the
equipment, resulting in a stop-and-go type
of harvest.[20]

Preventing soil erosion

Crop rotation can significantly reduce the

amount of soil lost from erosion by water.
In areas that are highly susceptible to
erosion, farm management practices such
as zero and reduced tillage can be
supplemented with specific crop rotation
methods to reduce raindrop impact,
sediment detachment, sediment transport,
surface runoff, and soil loss.[21]
Protection against soil loss is maximized
with rotation methods that leave the
greatest mass of crop stubble (plant
residue left after harvest) on top of the
soil. Stubble cover in contact with the soil
minimizes erosion from water by reducing
overland flow velocity, stream power, and
thus the ability of the water to detach and
transport sediment.[22] Soil Erosion and
Cill prevent the disruption and detachment
of soil aggregates that cause macropores
to block, infiltration to decline, and runoff
to increase.[23] This significantly improves
the resilience of soils when subjected to
periods of erosion and stress.
When a forage crop breaks down, binding
products are formed that act like an
adhesive on the soil, which makes
particles stick together, and form
aggregates.[24] The formation of soil
aggregates is important for erosion
control, as they are better able to resist
raindrop impact, and water erosion. Soil
aggregates also reduce wind erosion,
because they are larger particles, and are
more resistant to abrasion through tillage
practices.[25]

The effect of crop rotation on erosion

control varies by climate. In regions under
relatively consistent climate conditions,
where annual rainfall and temperature
levels are assumed, rigid crop rotations
can produce sufficient plant growth and
soil cover. In regions where climate
conditions are less predictable, and
unexpected periods of rain and drought
may occur, a more flexible approach for
soil cover by crop rotation is necessary. An
opportunity cropping system promotes
adequate soil cover under these erratic
climate conditions.[26] In an opportunity
cropping system, crops are grown when
soil water is adequate and there is a
reliable sowing window. This form of
cropping system is likely to produce better
soil cover than a rigid crop rotation
because crops are only sown under
optimal conditions, whereas rigid systems
are not necessarily sown in the best
conditions available.[27]

Crop rotations also affect the timing and

length of when a field is subject to
fallow.[28] This is very important because
depending on a particular region's climate,
a field could be the most vulnerable to
erosion when it is under fallow. Efficient
fallow management is an essential part of
reducing erosion in a crop rotation system.
Zero tillage is a fundamental management
practice that promotes crop stubble
retention under longer unplanned fallows
when crops cannot be planted.[26] Such
management practices that succeed in
retaining suitable soil cover in areas under
fallow will ultimately reduce soil loss. In a
recent study that lasted a decade, it was
found that a common winter cover crop
after potato harvest such as fall rye can
reduce soil run-off by as much as 43%, and
this is typically the most nutritional soil.[29]

Biodiversity

Increasing the biodiversity of crops has

beneficial effects on the surrounding
ecosystem and can host a greater
diversity of fauna, insects, and beneficial
microorganisms in the soil.[7] Some
studies point to increased nutrient
availability from crop rotation under
organic systems compared to
conventional practices as organic
practices are less likely to inhibit of
beneficial microbes in soil organic matter,
such as arbuscular mycorrhizae, which
increase nutrient uptake in plants.[14]
Increasing biodiversity also increases the
resilience of agro-ecological systems.[5]

Farm productivity

Crop rotation contributes to increased

yields through improved soil nutrition. By
requiring planting and harvesting of
different crops at different times, more
land can be farmed with the same amount
of machinery and labour.

Risk management

Different crops in the rotation can reduce

the risks of adverse weather for the
individual farmer.[30][31]

Challenges
While crop rotation requires a great deal of
planning, crop choice must respond to a
number of fixed conditions (soil type,
topography, climate, and irrigation) in
addition to conditions that may change
dramatically from year to the next
(weather, market, labor supply).[6] In this
way, it is unwise to plan crops years in
advance. Improper implementation of a
crop rotation plan may lead to imbalances
in the soil nutrient composition or a
buildup of pathogens affecting a critical
crop.[6] The consequences of faulty
rotation may take years to become
apparent even to experienced soil
scientists and can take just as long to
correct.[6]
Many challenges exist within the practices
associated with crop rotation. For
example, green manure from legumes can
lead to an invasion of snails or slugs and
the decay from green manure can
occasionally suppress the growth of other
crops.[9]

See also
Organic farming
Nitrogen fixing
Agroecology
Shmita
Carbon cycle
Notes
1. "What Is Crop Rotation?" . WorldAtlas.
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2. "Sabbath of the Land" . Retrieved
2016-09-06. "It is a well-established
agricultural fact that resting the land
every seven years is best for the soil
and that much-improved crops result
from doing so. During this scriptural
practice, there was to be no pruning or
planting in the sabbath year, nor any
attempt to kill the insects, or otherwise
interfere with natural processes in the
field. The fruit had to remain in the
field, except for what passerby[sic],
 servants, or owners plucked to eat; no
real harvesting was permitted, only
eating."
3. Organic Production: Using NRCS
Practice Standards to Support Organic
Growers (Report). Natural Resources
Conservation Service. July 2009.
|access-date= requires |url=
(help)
4. Dufour, Rex (July 2015). Tipsheet:
Crop Rotation in Organic Farming
Systems (Report). National Center for
Appropriate Technology. Retrieved
May 4, 2016.
5. Baldwin, Keith R. (June 2006). Crop
Rotations on Organic Farms (PDF)
(Report). Center for Environmental
Farming Systems. Archived from the
original (PDF) on May 13, 2015.
Retrieved May 4, 2016.
6. Johnson, Sue Ellen; Charles L. Mohler
(2009). Crop Rotation on Organic
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177. Ithica, NY: National Resource,
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(NRAES). ISBN 978-1-933395-21-0.
7. Coleman, Pamela (November 2012).
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 (PDF) (Report). National Organic
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8. Lamb, John; Craig Sheaffer & Kristine
Moncada (2010). "Chapter 4 Soil
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9. "Green Manures" . Royal Horticultural
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10. L. H. Bailey, ed. (1907). "Chapter 5,
"Crop Management," ". Cyclopedia of
American Agriculture. pp. 85–88.
11. Gegner, Lance; George Kuepper
(August 2004). "Organic Crop
 Production Overview" . National
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12. Powell, J.M.; William, T.O. (1993). "An
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sub-Saharan Africa". Livestock and
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13. "§205.205 Crop rotation practice
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14. Mäder, Paul; et al. (2000). "Arbuscular
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15. Triberti, Loretta; Anna Nastri & Guido
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47–55.
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16. Victoria, Reynaldo (2012). "The
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17. Loynachan, Tom (December 1, 2016).
"Nitrogen Fixation by Forage
Legumes" (PDF). Iowa State
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Retrieved December 1, 2016.
18. Adjei, M. B.; et al. (December 1, 2016).
"Nitrogen Fixation and Inoculation of
Forage Legumes" (PDF). Forage Beef.
 University of Florida. Retrieved
December 1, 2016.
19. Moncada, Kristine; Craig Sheaffer
(2010). "Chapter 2 Rotation". Risk
Management Guide for Organic
Producers (Report). University of
Minnesota. |access-date= requires
|url= (help)
20. Davies, Ken (March 2007). "Weed
Control in Potatoes" (PDF). British
Potato Council. Retrieved December 1,
2016.
21. Unger PW, McCalla TM (1980).
"Conservation Tillage Systems".
Advances in Agronomy. 33: 2–53.
 doi:10.1016/s0065-2113(08)60163-7 .
ISBN 9780120007332.
22. Rose CW, Freebairn DM. "A
mathematical model of soil erosion
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23. Loch RJ, Foley JL (1994).
"Measurement of Aggregate
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24. "Forages in Rotation" (PDF).
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25. "Aggregate Stability" . Natural
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26. Carroll C, Halpin M, Burger P, Bell K,
Sallaway MM, Yule DF (1997). "The
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27. Littleboy M, Silburn DM, Freebairn DM,
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28. Huang M, Shao M, Zhang L, Li Y
(2003). "Water use efficiency and
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29. Walker, Andy. "Cover crops have major
role to play in soil health" .
peicanada.com. Retrieved 2016-12-01.
30. "Crop Rotation – A Vital Component of
Organic Farming" . 2016-06-15.
31. [1]

References
Anderson, R.L. 2005. Are some crops
synergistic to following Environment affects
the corn and soybean rotation effect. Agron.
J. 89:441-448
White, L.T. 1962. Medieval Technology and
Social Change. Oxford University Press

External links
 Technology in the middle ages
 "Rotation of Crops"  . New International
Encyclopedia. 1905.

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