Crop Rotation

What is crop rotation?

Crop rotation is the practise of planting multiple crops on the same plot of land in order to improve soil health, optimise nutrients in the soil, and combat pest and weed pressure.

Assume a farmer has planted a field of corn. After the corn harvest, he may plant beans because corn consumes a lot of nitrogen and beans return nitrogen to the soil.A simple rotation may include two or three crops, while complex rotations may include a dozen or more.

At Svastya Organic Farms, soybeans are part of a complex crop rotation that includes corn, wheat, and other small grains

Different plants have different nutritional requirements and are vulnerable to various pathogens and pests.

If a farmer plants the same crop in the same spot every year, as is common in conventional farming, she draws the same nutrients out of the soil year after year. Pests and diseases will happily make themselves at home as long as their preferred food source is available. Increased levels of chemical fertilisers and pesticides are required in monocultures like these to keep yields high while keeping bugs and disease at bay.

Crop rotation helps to return nutrients to the soil without using synthetic fertilisers.

Furthermore, the practise works to disrupt pest and disease cycles, improve soil health by increasing biomass from various crop root structures, and boost farm biodiversity. Living in a crop rotation helps return nutrients to the soil without the use of synthetic fertilisers.

Additionally, the practise works to interrupt pest and disease cycles, improve soil health by increasing biomass from different crop root structures, and increase farm biodiversity. Variety is essential for soil life, and beneficial insects and pollinators are drawn to it above ground as well.