This note looks at crop rotation as one of the sustainable arable crop production practices. It describes the approaches to crop rotation, the benefits and the limitations of crop rotation. The note will serve as a valuable resource for higher ed students taking introductory courses in Agriculture.
It is a process of growing different crops in succession on a piece of land in a specific period of time, with an objective to get maximum profit from least investment without impairing the soil fertility
It is a process of growing different crops in succession on a piece of land in a specific period of time, with an objective to get maximum profit from least investment without impairing the soil fertility
Soil water conservation methods in agricultureVaishali Sharma
This presentation includes introduction as well as all the methods in agriculture either engineering or agronomic measures used in conservation of soil and water against erosion or other deteriorative factors.
Soil moisture characteristic curve is the relationship between the water content and the soil water potential, ψ.
It describes the functional relationship between soil water content and its energy status in terms of its matric potential under equilibrium conditions.
This curve is characteristic for different types of soil.
It is also called the Water retention curve
Plants create their own food through the process of photosynthesis, making them autotrophs. Additionally, the process' end result is referred to as a photosynthate or photo-assimilate. In plants, the phloem is a conducting tissue that carries photosynthate (food) to every part of the plant. While storage or the point of use is referred to as the Sink, the source of production or manufacturing is referred to as the Source. The source and sink connection notion is explained in the slides. The mechanisms cover these and other crucial aspects of the topic.
The Contingency plans cover contingency strategies to be taken up by farmers in response to major weather related aberrations such as delay in onset and breaks in monsoon causing early, mid and late season droughts, floods, unusual rains, extreme weather events such as heat wave, cold wave, frost, hailstorm and cyclone.
Soil water conservation methods in agricultureVaishali Sharma
This presentation includes introduction as well as all the methods in agriculture either engineering or agronomic measures used in conservation of soil and water against erosion or other deteriorative factors.
Soil moisture characteristic curve is the relationship between the water content and the soil water potential, ψ.
It describes the functional relationship between soil water content and its energy status in terms of its matric potential under equilibrium conditions.
This curve is characteristic for different types of soil.
It is also called the Water retention curve
Plants create their own food through the process of photosynthesis, making them autotrophs. Additionally, the process' end result is referred to as a photosynthate or photo-assimilate. In plants, the phloem is a conducting tissue that carries photosynthate (food) to every part of the plant. While storage or the point of use is referred to as the Sink, the source of production or manufacturing is referred to as the Source. The source and sink connection notion is explained in the slides. The mechanisms cover these and other crucial aspects of the topic.
The Contingency plans cover contingency strategies to be taken up by farmers in response to major weather related aberrations such as delay in onset and breaks in monsoon causing early, mid and late season droughts, floods, unusual rains, extreme weather events such as heat wave, cold wave, frost, hailstorm and cyclone.
This note looks at crop rotation as one of the sustainable arable crop production practices. It describes the approaches to crop rotation, the benefits and the limitations of crop rotation. The note will serve as a valuable resource for higher ed students taking introductory courses in Agriculture.
India grows the largest number of vegetables in the world. Varied agro climatic conditions in India make it feasible to grow several vegetables round the year. Being short duration crops, vegetables are more susceptible to extremities in environment. And vegetable production is also not consistent due to weather extremities and diminishing natural resources. In countries like India it is a serious problem in view of large population depending on agriculture, excessive pressure on natural resources and poor cropping mechanisms. Vegetables play an important role in achieving the nutritional security as they encounter the malnutrition problems in India and also serve as a source of income for the small and marginal farmers. The major objectives of reducing malnutrition and alleviating poverty in developing countries through improved and consumption of safe vegetables that involves adaptation of current vegetable cropping systems like, multiple cropping, mixed farming, intercropping, and relay cropping systems. Integration of crop production, different farming systems with suitable soil and water conservation measures lead to sustainable production increase in income levels and towards better livelihoods. Major emphasis should be given on development of diverse technologies for optimization of farm resources, increased economic return and improved sustainability.
Moreover, increasing temperatures, reduced irrigation water availability, flooding, and salinity will be major limiting factors in sustaining and increasing vegetable productivity. Extreme climatic conditions will also negatively impact soil fertility and increase soil erosion. Measures to adapt to these climate change induced stresses are critical for sustainable tropical vegetable production. Adoption of suitable cropping system is one such measure which ensures maximum utilisation of natural resources and inputs. Farmers may get benefitted by following different cropping systems even under adverse climatic conditions. Success in mitigating climate change depends on how well agricultural crops and systems adapt to the changes and concomitant environmental stresses of those changes on the current systems. Thus, adoption of suitable cropping patterns/systems will be needed to maintain vegetable productivity.
Multilayer Cropping : Ideal approach for better yield and increasing farm incomeAntaraPramanik
In India mostly farmers (about 85%)comes under small and marginal farmers. In near future, availability of land for cultivation will be reduce with increasing population and rapid urbanization, degradation of land due to soil erosion and soil salinity.
As per estimate, in India more than 95% holding will be under the category of small and marginal holders by 2050 (Agrawal R.L., 1995) .
For solution of this problem, multi storied cropping system will be a potential and efficient option to provide food, nutritional and income security to the growing population of India (Awasthi O.P. et.al., 2008) . This has possible because of the diverse agro climatic condition, enormous biodiversity, wide variation in soil fertility, large cultivable land area in the geographical boundary of India. Multi-layer Cropping is a system of growing crops together of different heights at the same time on the same piece of land. It is also referred as multi-storied cropping or multi-tier cropping. Multilayer Cropping is based on the principle of high-density planting and making the ultimate and efficient use of manure, water, land, labour and vertical space.
This system of cropping also works on the principles of minimization of production cost and inputs use, development of organic and sustainable farming system in order to mitigate the use of chemicals and ensuring the food and nutritional security to each household.
Multilayer system of cropping is sustainable method of cropping that is cost effective and requires less labour . Therefore, people should be made aware of this type of farming system.
We know that many farmers in different countries are unwillingly killing themselves because they work hard in their land but they don’t get good production.
Farmers who are willing to do work are deprived of different resources like irrigation and good area of agricultural land. In this scenario, they can be motivated to do multi-layer system of cropping which can ultimately solves all these problem.
This system of cropping can helps to uplift the economic condition of farmer. The Multilayer Cropping System is indeed a boon to small & marginal farmers.
Conservation Agriculture
introduction
Principles of conservation Agriculture
Advantages of C.A .
Tools And Technologies Involved In Conservation Agriculture
cropping systems and farming systems,Ppt lodha introGovardhan Lodha
Concept of sustainability in cropping systems and farming systems, scope
and objectives; production potential under monoculture, double cropping,
multiple cropping, alley cropping, sequential cropping and intercropping,
mechanism of yield advantage in intercropping systems.
Turning your farming venture into an export businessDaisy Ifeoma
A short presentation to ZWARFA women group of farmers on an export seminar organized for them by ZimTrade. The buzz word of the presentation is Upgrading. How can small to medium-scale farmers upgrade their products, processes and functions to target export markets? The presentation explains briefly paths and means by which these farmers can upgrade.
Quality standards and enhancement in zimbabwean universities; the role of lec...Daisy Ifeoma
This paper discusses the roles of lecturers in improving quality of university education in Zimbabwe. The paper contends that continuous and holistic improvement in university education system requires the collaborative efforts of various stakeholders both internal and external with focus on the role of lecturers.
Agricultural commodity marketing; marketing issues related to timeDaisy Ifeoma
This chapter will enable students to understand the different stages of agricultural commodity marketing. At the end of this chapter, students should have an understanding of how agricultural commodity exchanges operate, how the prices of commodities are determined and most importantly be able to argue in favour of /against the presence of hedgers and speculators in the futures market.
Agricultural commodity marketing; marketing issues related to formDaisy Ifeoma
This chapter will enable students to understand the different stages of agricultural commodity marketing.The chapter also emphasizes the importance of grading and classification of agricultural commodities to the students.
This topic looks at one of the strategies used by farmers and small firms in the agribusiness sector to leverage cost, access markets and become competitive in the market. Emphasis was made on the use of contract farming (vertical linkage) and cooperatives (horizontal linkage).
This chapter is intended to ensure that students understand why agricultural policies are needed in both developing and developed countries. It will also shed light on the major forces that cause policy change, reasons for government involvement in agriculture and the place of agricultural policies in the future.
This chapter exposes students to the issues of consolidation and concentration faced by the agribusiness sector in most developing countries and how this affects their productivity and profitability.
This chapter brings together the basic ideas of consumer demand, and the production and cost concerns. This chapter will enable students to understand how price is determined in a market and the role of price.
Introduction to agribusiness marketingDaisy Ifeoma
This chapter is intended to help the students understand how agribusiness came into being, the size and importance of the agribusiness sector, the conflicting needs of the players in this sector and most importantly, the relevance of marketing to the agricultural and food sectors.
Slide 1: Title Slide
Extrachromosomal Inheritance
Slide 2: Introduction to Extrachromosomal Inheritance
Definition: Extrachromosomal inheritance refers to the transmission of genetic material that is not found within the nucleus.
Key Components: Involves genes located in mitochondria, chloroplasts, and plasmids.
Slide 3: Mitochondrial Inheritance
Mitochondria: Organelles responsible for energy production.
Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA): Circular DNA molecule found in mitochondria.
Inheritance Pattern: Maternally inherited, meaning it is passed from mothers to all their offspring.
Diseases: Examples include Leber’s hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON) and mitochondrial myopathy.
Slide 4: Chloroplast Inheritance
Chloroplasts: Organelles responsible for photosynthesis in plants.
Chloroplast DNA (cpDNA): Circular DNA molecule found in chloroplasts.
Inheritance Pattern: Often maternally inherited in most plants, but can vary in some species.
Examples: Variegation in plants, where leaf color patterns are determined by chloroplast DNA.
Slide 5: Plasmid Inheritance
Plasmids: Small, circular DNA molecules found in bacteria and some eukaryotes.
Features: Can carry antibiotic resistance genes and can be transferred between cells through processes like conjugation.
Significance: Important in biotechnology for gene cloning and genetic engineering.
Slide 6: Mechanisms of Extrachromosomal Inheritance
Non-Mendelian Patterns: Do not follow Mendel’s laws of inheritance.
Cytoplasmic Segregation: During cell division, organelles like mitochondria and chloroplasts are randomly distributed to daughter cells.
Heteroplasmy: Presence of more than one type of organellar genome within a cell, leading to variation in expression.
Slide 7: Examples of Extrachromosomal Inheritance
Four O’clock Plant (Mirabilis jalapa): Shows variegated leaves due to different cpDNA in leaf cells.
Petite Mutants in Yeast: Result from mutations in mitochondrial DNA affecting respiration.
Slide 8: Importance of Extrachromosomal Inheritance
Evolution: Provides insight into the evolution of eukaryotic cells.
Medicine: Understanding mitochondrial inheritance helps in diagnosing and treating mitochondrial diseases.
Agriculture: Chloroplast inheritance can be used in plant breeding and genetic modification.
Slide 9: Recent Research and Advances
Gene Editing: Techniques like CRISPR-Cas9 are being used to edit mitochondrial and chloroplast DNA.
Therapies: Development of mitochondrial replacement therapy (MRT) for preventing mitochondrial diseases.
Slide 10: Conclusion
Summary: Extrachromosomal inheritance involves the transmission of genetic material outside the nucleus and plays a crucial role in genetics, medicine, and biotechnology.
Future Directions: Continued research and technological advancements hold promise for new treatments and applications.
Slide 11: Questions and Discussion
Invite Audience: Open the floor for any questions or further discussion on the topic.
Cancer cell metabolism: special Reference to Lactate PathwayAADYARAJPANDEY1
Normal Cell Metabolism:
Cellular respiration describes the series of steps that cells use to break down sugar and other chemicals to get the energy we need to function.
Energy is stored in the bonds of glucose and when glucose is broken down, much of that energy is released.
Cell utilize energy in the form of ATP.
The first step of respiration is called glycolysis. In a series of steps, glycolysis breaks glucose into two smaller molecules - a chemical called pyruvate. A small amount of ATP is formed during this process.
Most healthy cells continue the breakdown in a second process, called the Kreb's cycle. The Kreb's cycle allows cells to “burn” the pyruvates made in glycolysis to get more ATP.
The last step in the breakdown of glucose is called oxidative phosphorylation (Ox-Phos).
It takes place in specialized cell structures called mitochondria. This process produces a large amount of ATP. Importantly, cells need oxygen to complete oxidative phosphorylation.
If a cell completes only glycolysis, only 2 molecules of ATP are made per glucose. However, if the cell completes the entire respiration process (glycolysis - Kreb's - oxidative phosphorylation), about 36 molecules of ATP are created, giving it much more energy to use.
IN CANCER CELL:
Unlike healthy cells that "burn" the entire molecule of sugar to capture a large amount of energy as ATP, cancer cells are wasteful.
Cancer cells only partially break down sugar molecules. They overuse the first step of respiration, glycolysis. They frequently do not complete the second step, oxidative phosphorylation.
This results in only 2 molecules of ATP per each glucose molecule instead of the 36 or so ATPs healthy cells gain. As a result, cancer cells need to use a lot more sugar molecules to get enough energy to survive.
Unlike healthy cells that "burn" the entire molecule of sugar to capture a large amount of energy as ATP, cancer cells are wasteful.
Cancer cells only partially break down sugar molecules. They overuse the first step of respiration, glycolysis. They frequently do not complete the second step, oxidative phosphorylation.
This results in only 2 molecules of ATP per each glucose molecule instead of the 36 or so ATPs healthy cells gain. As a result, cancer cells need to use a lot more sugar molecules to get enough energy to survive.
introduction to WARBERG PHENOMENA:
WARBURG EFFECT Usually, cancer cells are highly glycolytic (glucose addiction) and take up more glucose than do normal cells from outside.
Otto Heinrich Warburg (; 8 October 1883 – 1 August 1970) In 1931 was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology for his "discovery of the nature and mode of action of the respiratory enzyme.
WARNBURG EFFECT : cancer cells under aerobic (well-oxygenated) conditions to metabolize glucose to lactate (aerobic glycolysis) is known as the Warburg effect. Warburg made the observation that tumor slices consume glucose and secrete lactate at a higher rate than normal tissues.
Richard's entangled aventures in wonderlandRichard Gill
Since the loophole-free Bell experiments of 2020 and the Nobel prizes in physics of 2022, critics of Bell's work have retreated to the fortress of super-determinism. Now, super-determinism is a derogatory word - it just means "determinism". Palmer, Hance and Hossenfelder argue that quantum mechanics and determinism are not incompatible, using a sophisticated mathematical construction based on a subtle thinning of allowed states and measurements in quantum mechanics, such that what is left appears to make Bell's argument fail, without altering the empirical predictions of quantum mechanics. I think however that it is a smoke screen, and the slogan "lost in math" comes to my mind. I will discuss some other recent disproofs of Bell's theorem using the language of causality based on causal graphs. Causal thinking is also central to law and justice. I will mention surprising connections to my work on serial killer nurse cases, in particular the Dutch case of Lucia de Berk and the current UK case of Lucy Letby.
The increased availability of biomedical data, particularly in the public domain, offers the opportunity to better understand human health and to develop effective therapeutics for a wide range of unmet medical needs. However, data scientists remain stymied by the fact that data remain hard to find and to productively reuse because data and their metadata i) are wholly inaccessible, ii) are in non-standard or incompatible representations, iii) do not conform to community standards, and iv) have unclear or highly restricted terms and conditions that preclude legitimate reuse. These limitations require a rethink on data can be made machine and AI-ready - the key motivation behind the FAIR Guiding Principles. Concurrently, while recent efforts have explored the use of deep learning to fuse disparate data into predictive models for a wide range of biomedical applications, these models often fail even when the correct answer is already known, and fail to explain individual predictions in terms that data scientists can appreciate. These limitations suggest that new methods to produce practical artificial intelligence are still needed.
In this talk, I will discuss our work in (1) building an integrative knowledge infrastructure to prepare FAIR and "AI-ready" data and services along with (2) neurosymbolic AI methods to improve the quality of predictions and to generate plausible explanations. Attention is given to standards, platforms, and methods to wrangle knowledge into simple, but effective semantic and latent representations, and to make these available into standards-compliant and discoverable interfaces that can be used in model building, validation, and explanation. Our work, and those of others in the field, creates a baseline for building trustworthy and easy to deploy AI models in biomedicine.
Bio
Dr. Michel Dumontier is the Distinguished Professor of Data Science at Maastricht University, founder and executive director of the Institute of Data Science, and co-founder of the FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable) data principles. His research explores socio-technological approaches for responsible discovery science, which includes collaborative multi-modal knowledge graphs, privacy-preserving distributed data mining, and AI methods for drug discovery and personalized medicine. His work is supported through the Dutch National Research Agenda, the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research, Horizon Europe, the European Open Science Cloud, the US National Institutes of Health, and a Marie-Curie Innovative Training Network. He is the editor-in-chief for the journal Data Science and is internationally recognized for his contributions in bioinformatics, biomedical informatics, and semantic technologies including ontologies and linked data.
Multi-source connectivity as the driver of solar wind variability in the heli...Sérgio Sacani
The ambient solar wind that flls the heliosphere originates from multiple
sources in the solar corona and is highly structured. It is often described
as high-speed, relatively homogeneous, plasma streams from coronal
holes and slow-speed, highly variable, streams whose source regions are
under debate. A key goal of ESA/NASA’s Solar Orbiter mission is to identify
solar wind sources and understand what drives the complexity seen in the
heliosphere. By combining magnetic feld modelling and spectroscopic
techniques with high-resolution observations and measurements, we show
that the solar wind variability detected in situ by Solar Orbiter in March
2022 is driven by spatio-temporal changes in the magnetic connectivity to
multiple sources in the solar atmosphere. The magnetic feld footpoints
connected to the spacecraft moved from the boundaries of a coronal hole
to one active region (12961) and then across to another region (12957). This
is refected in the in situ measurements, which show the transition from fast
to highly Alfvénic then to slow solar wind that is disrupted by the arrival of
a coronal mass ejection. Our results describe solar wind variability at 0.5 au
but are applicable to near-Earth observatories.
Nutraceutical market, scope and growth: Herbal drug technologyLokesh Patil
As consumer awareness of health and wellness rises, the nutraceutical market—which includes goods like functional meals, drinks, and dietary supplements that provide health advantages beyond basic nutrition—is growing significantly. As healthcare expenses rise, the population ages, and people want natural and preventative health solutions more and more, this industry is increasing quickly. Further driving market expansion are product formulation innovations and the use of cutting-edge technology for customized nutrition. With its worldwide reach, the nutraceutical industry is expected to keep growing and provide significant chances for research and investment in a number of categories, including vitamins, minerals, probiotics, and herbal supplements.
Observation of Io’s Resurfacing via Plume Deposition Using Ground-based Adapt...Sérgio Sacani
Since volcanic activity was first discovered on Io from Voyager images in 1979, changes
on Io’s surface have been monitored from both spacecraft and ground-based telescopes.
Here, we present the highest spatial resolution images of Io ever obtained from a groundbased telescope. These images, acquired by the SHARK-VIS instrument on the Large
Binocular Telescope, show evidence of a major resurfacing event on Io’s trailing hemisphere. When compared to the most recent spacecraft images, the SHARK-VIS images
show that a plume deposit from a powerful eruption at Pillan Patera has covered part
of the long-lived Pele plume deposit. Although this type of resurfacing event may be common on Io, few have been detected due to the rarity of spacecraft visits and the previously low spatial resolution available from Earth-based telescopes. The SHARK-VIS instrument ushers in a new era of high resolution imaging of Io’s surface using adaptive
optics at visible wavelengths.
A brief information about the SCOP protein database used in bioinformatics.
The Structural Classification of Proteins (SCOP) database is a comprehensive and authoritative resource for the structural and evolutionary relationships of proteins. It provides a detailed and curated classification of protein structures, grouping them into families, superfamilies, and folds based on their structural and sequence similarities.
1. Crop Rotation
Introduction
Crop rotation is a common practice used in both arable farming and mixed farming systems. The practice
of crop rotation has been in use for over a thousand years and has proven to be an effective soil
management technique.
Crop rotation refers to the practice of planting different crops on the same plot in a sequential order over
a period of years or cropping seasons to avoid depletion of soil nutrients and to combat weeds, pests, and
diseases. It is a technique of growing several different crop types (or no crop at all) on the same piece of
land and in successive seasons with the objective of maximizing yield without impairing the soil fertility.
Crop rotation is different from mixed cropping which refers to the practice of growing two or
more crops together on the same piece of land. Crop rotation can be simple or complex. A farmer that
alternates two crops have a remarkably simple rotation. Simple crop rotation plans are however, usually
for three to four years and often involves growing three to four crops successively. The higher the number
of years and crops involved, the more complex the crop rotation system becomes. A five to eight crop
rotation plan involving more than half a dozen crops becomes overly complex for most small farmers.
Why Rotate
Growing the same crop in the same plot year after year (monoculture) inevitably unbalances the soil
nutrient composition as certain nutrients gets depleted while others build up depending on the
requirements of the crop. Pest and diseases also build up with the continual growth of a single crop over
a period of years. An understanding of these facts led to the practice of planting different crops every
year commonly known as crop rotation.
Crop rotations are an important part of any sustainable agricultural system. It is widely acknowledged
that crop rotation is necessary for improving soil quality and maintaining farm productivity. Arable crop
farmers generally develop a crop rotation system over time. Effective crop rotations are a foundation of
organic cropping systems. Crop rotation plans and records are a necessity for organic certification of a
farm.
Principles of Crop Rotation
There are principles that farmers must adhere to in the practice of crop rotation to achieve the intended
objectives. These principles include the following:
2. 1. Allow a minimum of three to four years before replanting the same crop on the same plot of land.
2. The crops with deep roots should be followed by those which have shallow root system. Planting
a deep-rooted crop after a shallow rooted crop allows the deep rotted crop to tap nutrients while
the shallow part of the soil replenishes and vice versa. This gives the soil sufficient time to
replenish the lost nutrients at different soil level.
3. A leguminous crop should follow high nitrogen-demanding crops. This is important because the
leguminous crop will replenish the soil with atmospheric nitrogen and increase the soil organic
matter content. Legumes use less nitrogen and more phosphate while non-legumes have high
demand for nitrogen and low demand for phosphorus. Alternating these crops helps maintain the
soil nitrogen and phosphorus levels.
4. Exhaustive crops which take up high amount of soil nutrients should be followed by less
exhaustive crops with lower demand for soil nutrients.
5. Crops with high demand for inputs use (better care, better tillage, more insecticide) should be
followed by crops with relatively less demand for the above-mentioned inputs. For example, crops
like maize or wheat should be followed by crops like chickpeas, runner beans and kidney beans.
6. Crops of different families should not be grown in succession to minimize the possibility of shared
pests, and diseases becoming a problem. For example, potatoes should not follow tomatoes
because they suffer from the same type of blight capable of wiping out the entire crop.
7. Consider planting non-host plants for a year or two if nematodes become a problem.
8. For sloppy plots, crops which promote erosion (maize) should be followed by crops that are
erosion resistant (cow peas).
9. In regions with limited rainfall and irrigation facilities, high-water demanding crops should be
followed with low water demanding crops.
10. Weed susceptible crops should be followed by weed suppressing crops.
Approaches to Crop Rotation.
There are two main approaches to crop rotation.
• Rotating crops by edible parts:
Farmers can rotate their crops according to edible parts, but this approach has one major drawback. Plants
of the same family but different edible parts tend to suffer from the same soil-borne pests and diseases
and absorb same nutrient from the soil. For example, tomatoes and potatoes are both from the Solanaceae
family but have different edible parts. Under this system, tomatoes will be classified as fruit and potatoes
3. as roots. Being from the same family, both are susceptible to same types of pests and diseases. Planting
one after the other on the same plot will not only create problems for the farmers but will give a poor
yield because of lack of nutrient.
• Rotating crops by crop families
A more common approach of crop rotation is rotating by crop families. This allows grouping of plants
with similar maintenance requirements together and helps reduce the risk of unintentionally passing on
crop-specific soil-dwelling pests and diseases to the next crop. The crop families are listed as follows:
4. Steps in Crop Rotation
Benefits of Crop Rotation
1. Reduces dependence on fertilizer use: Rotations that include legumes provides the next crops
with sufficient amount of this crucial soil nutrient. Nitrogen from legumes remain in the soil
longer than the nitrogen from synthetic fertilizers. Crop rotation also minimizes the rate of nitrate
leaching. All these improves the availability of nitrogen in the soil thereby reducing dependence
on use of fertilizer.
List all the
crop types
and the numb
er of crops
you want to
grow.
Sort the
crops
according to
their
botanical
families
Divide the
growing area
into equal
sections.
sections
should be
equal to the
number of
yers for the
planned
rotation
Plot where
you will plant
each selected
crop each
year.
Keep records
of what
happened in a
year, use the
information
for next year.
5. 2. Enhances soil fertility: crop rotation practices like green manuring, cover cropping, planting
leguminous crops, and alternating deep rooted and shallow rooted crops all aim at improving
overall soil fertility. Carefully planned rotation takes into consideration the previous year’s crops
ensuring the availability of sufficient nutrients for the next crops.
3. Increases crop yield and variety: crop rotation increases yield from a single seasonal harvest
for the farmer in addition to increasing the variety of crops produced. That increase in soil nutrient
because of crop rotation provides sufficient nourishment to the plants ensuing increased
productivity.
4. Less fallow periods: one of the aims of allowing land to fallow is soil nutrient replenishment and
this can be achieved through crop rotation. Fallow periods are replaced with the planting of
different crops to replenish soil nutrients thereby improving farmers productivity.
5. Enhances productivity of successive crops: when crop compatibility is taken into consideration
in crop rotation, some crops have beneficial interactions and enhances the yield of successive
crops
6. Resource utilization: Adding diversity to crop rotation, especially for large scale farmers helps
to reduce fixed machinery and labour costs. Crop rotation ensures proper utilization of all farm
resources and inputs. Farm labour, power and machineries are well employed from one cropping
season to the other. Crop rotation also reduces dependence on external inputs through internal
nutrient recycling and ensures long-term productivity of the land.
7. Better soil structure: crop rotation affects the root structure over time. The diversity in planting
deep rooted/tap root followed by shallow rooted/ fibrous roots overtime enhances the physical
and biological structure of the soil creating a better soil structure. This also increases the soil
nutrient pool and the water-holding capacity of the soil.
8. Improves overall soil quality: Crop rotation practices like green manuring, composting, and
cover cropping helps improve soil quality by maintaining or increasing the organic matter content
of the soil which is the primary food source of soil organisms. Consequently, the healthy presence
of soil microorganisms in the soil is beneficial in holding soil particles together, loosening
compacted soil, releasing minerals for plant uptake, enhancing air and water movement in the
soil, and providing pathways for healthy root growth
9. Means of erosion control: soil stability increases when deep rooted crops are alternated with
shallow rooted crops and this helps protect the farm against forces of erosion. The associated
improvement in soil tilth and microbial communities improves the soil structure and helps to
6. minimize soil erosion. Crop rotation involving cover crops also helps to minimize surface water
runoff.
10. Natural pest and disease control: Crop rotation play a big role in breaking the cycle of pests
and diseases caused by plant pathogens taking a foot hold in the farm. Diversifying the cropping
sequence eliminates the food source of the pests and disrupts the life cycle of the pests. This in
turn minimizes the use of pesticides, insecticides and nematicides.
11. Reduces weed stress: Crop rotation serves as a traditional weed control technique. Field
conditions under crop rotation allows crops to crowd out weeds as they compete for soil nutrients.
The population of weeds are reduced and in the long run, farmers depend less on tillage and use
of herbicides for weed management.
12. Diversification of risks: crop rotation helps farmers to spread their weather risk and diversify
economic risks as well improve overall farm productivity and income of producers.
Other benefits include improvement in overall farm productivity, diversification of economic risks,
biodiversity of crops and animal habitats, lower greenhouse gas emission from lower use of fertilizers
and pesticides, decreased negative environmental impact.
Limitations of Crop Rotation
1. Does not allow specialization: crop rotation makes it difficult for farmers to specialize. Farmers
cannot produce a single crop in a large scale over a long period of time.
2. Higher investment in machinery: some crops require specific types of equipment and
machinery, so farmers may have to invest in different types of machinery causing initial cost to
be high.
3. More demand on time: crop rotation involves investments by farmers in different planting
techniques unique to the crops. Each crop needs different type of attention and this can cost the
farmer a lot of time as well as money to implement.
4. Opportunity cost: by rotating different crops yearly, farmers lose out on the chance to plant the
crops that may give them the highest profit in a crop year. With crop rotation, farmers may not
plant their most valuable crop every year, so they earn less profit from planting the crops with
lower market value.
5. Risky: There is no guarantee that all the crops planted in a season will do well. farmers run the
risk of making a loss after investing money in farm inputs for each different crop planted.
7. Challenges of crop rotation
A major challenge with crop rotation is that the choice of crops depends on several fixed factors (soil
type, topography, climatic conditions, and availability of water) and variable factors (demand, labour).
This makes planning crop rotation difficult for many farmers. Improper implementation of crop rotation
can lead to more harm than good such as excessive nutrient depletion or build up that will take years to
be noticed and even long time to correct. One must understand the principles of crop rotation for it to be
successfully implemented.
Farm Machineries for Arable Crop Production
Arable crop production has a variation of distinct processes which makes it nearly impossible to carry
out without the use of machineries. With increased commercialization of farming, the use of machineries
and tools have become essential. Farm machineries refers to technologies, equipment and appliances used
on a farm.
Different stages of farming require the use of different type of machinery. In general, the following types
of machineries are required in arable crop farming;
1. Soil cultivation machineries
2. Planting machineries
3. Fertilizing and pest control machineries
4. Irrigation machineries
5. Harvesting and threshing machineries
It is important to note that the tractor which is the most common machinery used in the farm do not fall
into any of these categories. The tractor is used for pushing other farm machineries that cannot propel
themselves in carrying out specific task such as ploughing, tilling, planting, and others. Tractors come in
different sizes depending on the machine to be coupled to it.
Preparing or getting the ground ready for arable crop production involves clearing unwanted vegetations
and weeds, ploughing to dig up and overturn the soil, harrowing to break up soil and incorporate plant
residues, and leveling and smoothing the soil surface. These activities entail the use of the tractor and
different soil cultivation machineries and they include the following:
8. 1. Tractor: used to propel the plough, harrow and other soil preparation implements.
2. Plough: The Plough is a primary tillage implement used to cut, granulate, and invert the soil,
creating furrows and ridges. Plowing brings fresh nutrients to the surface and make the ground
softer to allow easy penetration of plant roots, better aeration, and improved soil moisture content.
A ploughed field is often allowed to dry out before planting. There are different types of plough:
mould board plough, disc plough, ridge plough, and chisel plough.
3. Harrow: harrows are used to break up soil lumps and improve soil granulation and surface
uniformity to make it suitable for seeding and planting operations. Harrowing is carried out after
ploughing which creates furrows and surface ridges to provide a finer finish and good soil
structure. There are three types of harrow: disk, spike and drag harrow.
4. Cultivator: cultivators are secondary tillage implements used for pulverizing the soil before
planting. The cultivator stirs the soil to a greater depth than the harrow.
5. Cultipacker: this is used to crush dirt clods, removes pockets of air and press down stones to
form a smooth firm seedbed.
6. Rotary tiller: this is a form of motorized cultivator with rotary blades used for tilling the soil. It
is also known as a rotavator.
Soil preparation is essential for the success of all other activities involved in arable crop production and
therefore should be carried out with utmost care.
Group work
Plot a four-year crop rotation plan for a small vegetable farm taking into consideration the principles
guiding crop rotation.
Further reading
1. Pichardo V. M. (2015). Soil Preparation: Tools and Implements. Available at
https://www.slideshare.net/victoriamoyapichardo/soil-preparation-tools-and-implements
2. Watch the video on crop rotation by GrowVeg.com. Available at
https://youtu.be/XeNA6XdMoF8
3. Read the attached Word document provided for this topic.
4. Study the table for the crop botanical families attached to the word document note.
9. REFERENCES
Farmers weekly (2019). Understanding Crop Rotation. [Online]. Available at
https://www.farmersweekly.co.za/farm-basics/how-to-crop/understanding-crop-rotation/
GrowVeg (2019). Easy crop rotation using colours of the rainbow. [Online]. Available at
https://www.growveg.com/introductory/planning-crop-rotation.aspx [Accessed 24th
May 2020].
https://precisionagricultu.re/the-five-main-types-of-agricultural-implements/
https://store.almanac.com/the-importance-of-crop-rotation/
Jagdish Reddy. 2019. Farm Machinery; type, uses and importance. [Online]. Available at
https://www.agrifarming.in/farm-machinery-types-uses-and-importance [Accessed 26th
May 2020].
Miller B. (2016). 8 Pros and Cons of Crop Rotation. [Online] Available at https://greengarageblog.org/8-
pros-and-cons-of-crop-rotation [Accessed 24th
May 2020].
Pichardo V. M. (2015). Soil Preparation: Tools and Implements. [Online] Available at
https://www.slideshare.net/victoriamoyapichardo/soil-preparation-tools-and-implements [Accessed 24th
May 2020].
Richmond Vale (2017). 9 benefits of crop rotation for the environment. [Online] Available at
https://richmondvale.org/en/blog/categories/garden-farming [Accessed: 25th
May 2020]
The Seasonal Homestead. (2019). Crop rotation idea for an organic vegetable garden.[Online] Available
at https://www.theseasonalhomestead.com/crop-rotation-basics organic-vegetable-garden/. [Accessed
26/05/2020].
Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE). (2019). [Online]. Available at
https://www.sare.org/Learning-Center/Books/Building-Soils-for-Better-Crops-3rd-Edition/Text-
Version/Crop-Rotations/Rotation-Examples