How Crop Rotation Is Necessary for Maintaining Soil Fertility

What is Crop Rotation?

Crop rotation is defined as a process of growing different crops in succession on the same area through a period of definite time depending upon the defined plan. It helps the soil to regain its fertility and helps it in sustaining.

What is the significance of Crop Rotation?

1. It helps in creating diversity in the same land

2. It helps to build soil organic matter and provide the soil with its essential and non-essential nutrients

3. It decreases the chances of weed during crop season, pest and disease problems on the land

4. It lets the field regain its fertility thereby increasing the cropping capacity

How it aids in sustaining soil fertility?

In the process of crop rotation, most of the crops cause depletion of soil nutrients during their period of development. Some of the nutrients leave as they get incorporated in the products harvested and the remaining return as crop residues.

The nutrients that are left as residues may not be available to the following yield. They improve soil fertility by stimulating the microbes to grow thus improving soil aggregation. This improves soil external environment, increases its water retention capacity etc. leading to growth and plant nutrient foraging.

In order to plan a successful crop rotation to meet nutrient requirements several things should be made considered and kept in mind. For Example, The Legume crops, capture atmospheric nitrogen and make it available to plants which can be utilized by them and therefore be utilized strategically to meet the demands of nitrogen demanding crops.

Choice of Crops: Crop choice depends on the requirement of the Farmer with the rotation. It could be to increase the availability of nitrogen, decrease soil erosion, increasing the biomass of the area and many more. When crop rotation is concerned crops can be of different types

For example: giving appropriate attention to the plants which are essential for minimizing the chances of pests. Many farmers are reported to be successful in managing crop rotations.

1. Row crops: Crops which are beneficial for the market like vegetables which are grown in compact rows.

2. Legumes Interrelationship: proves to be of great advantage with the crops that are nitrogen deficient. For example, alfalfa and clover are reported to collect nitrogen which is available in soil in nodules of the root structure

3. Types of grass and cereals: They are considered essential cover crops because of the great benefits they provide to soil quality and structure.

Planning of Rotation

Various factors should be kept in mind while planning crop rotation. An effective rotation involves weighing of fixed and fluctuating circumstances in production which include the following aspects like market, farm area, labour availability, surrounding climate, type of soil, crop growing practices, etc.

Moreover, a crop rotation must consider the conditions in which crops will be fully grown and the soil for the succeeding crop and how the crop must be succeeded with another crop. 

For example, a nitrogen-fixing crop, like a legume, should always precede nitrogen depleting one; similarly, a low residue crop (i.e. a crop with low biomass) should be offset with a high biomass crop, like a mixture of grasses.

Written By - Chavi Goel