Crop rotation involves growing different crops in sequential order on the same land to restore soil fertility. It helps restore nitrogen in the soil through legumes and prevents nutrient depletion. Crops are rotated based on their nutrient and water needs, root systems, and other characteristics. The benefits of crop rotation include increased yields, reduced costs from less need for fertilizers and pesticides, prevention of soil erosion, and regular income from continuous crops.

1. Crop rotation

2. Repeated cultivation of crops or
crops and fallow in a certain
sequence on the same land is called
crop rotation.
Example: Rice- Wheat- Moong
It is the reverse of land rotation.
Here crop is rotated year after year.
Crop rotation
Paddy
Wheat
Moong

3. 1. The leguminous plants are grown
alternately with non-leguminous plants to
restore the fertility of the soil.
N
N
N
N N
In the rotation of crops, leguminous crops like
pulses, beans, peas, groundnut and Bengal gram
are sown after cereal crops like wheat, maize and
pearl millet. When the cereal crops like rice,
wheat, maize are grown in the soil, it uses up a lot
of nitrogenous salts from the soil. If another crop of
cereal is grown in the same soil, the soil becomes
nitrogen deficient.

4. So by rotation a
leguminous crop is grown.
These plants can fix
atmospheric nitrogen to
form nitrogen compounds
through the help of certain
bacteria present in their
root nodules. These
nitrogen compounds go
into the soil and make it

5. The exhaustive
crops are grown
alternately with
less exhaustive
crops to restore
the fertility of
the soil.
The exhaustive crops are grown alternately
with less exhaustive crops to restore the
fertility of the soil.
The crops which uptake higher amount of
nutrients from the soil are called exhaustive
crops like potato, sugarcane.
The crops which uptake lesser amount of
nutrients from the soil are called less
exhaustive crops like oilseeds & pulses.
Continuous cultivation of exhaustive crops in
the same land leads to gradual reduction of
soil fertility or nutrient status of the soil.
Therefore, The exhaustive crops are grown
alternately with less exhaustive crops to
restore the fertility of the soil.

6. The crops with tap roots should be
followed by those which have fibrous root
system.
This helps in proper & uniform use of
nutrients from the soil.
The roots do not compete for uptake of
nutrients.
Examples: rice- pigeon pea
3. The tap root crops are grown alternately with fibrous root
crops for uniform utilization of soil nutrients.
Deep moderat
e
shallow
Alfalfa Barley Field pea
Safflower canola flax
sunflower mustard lentil

7. PRINCIPLES OF CROP ROTATION:
 The rotation should provide roughage and pasturage for the livestock
kept on farm. Therefore, fodder crop must be included in the rotation to
feed the animals. Examples: rice- black gram-fodder maize/ berseem
 On sloppy lands alternate cropping of erosion promoting and erosion
resisting crops should be adopted. Examples: Maize (erosion promoting
)- cow pea/ green gram (erosion resisting ).
 Under Dryland or limited irrigation condition, drought tolerant crops
(Jowar, Bajra), in low lying & flood prone areas, water stagnation tolerant
crops (Paddy, Jute) should be adopted.

8. • There is an overall increase in the yield of crops due to maintenance of
proper physical condition of the soil and its OM content.
• Rotation of crops helps in saving on nitrogenous fertilizers, because
leguminous plants grown during the rotation of crops can fix atmospheric
nitrogen in the soil with the help of nitrogen fixing bacteria.
• Rotation of crops help in weed control and pest control. This is because
weeds and pests are very choosy about the host crop plant, which they
attack. When the crop is changed the cycle is broken. Hence, pesticide
cost is reduced.
• There is regular flow of income over the year.
• Proper choice of crops in rotation helps to prevent soil erosion.
• It supplies various needs of farmer & his cattle.
• Crop rotation adds diversity to the farm. Different crop rotation:
Advantages of Crop
Rotation

9. Different crop rotation:
1. Cotton – Groundnut
2. 2. Rice – Gram/ Sunflower.
3. 3. Hybrid Jowar – Wheat/ Jowar/ Gram.
4. Jowar – Sunflower – Groundnut.
5. Sunflower – Potato – Groundnut.
6. Groundnut – Wheat – Vegetables.
7. Sorghum – Wheat – Green gram – Cotton – Groundnut.
8. Sun hemp – Sugarcane – Groundnut