There are two main types of cropping patterns: mixed cropping and intercropping. Mixed cropping involves growing multiple crops simultaneously on the same land, which improves soil fertility and increases crop yields as the crops support each other. Intercropping specifically refers to growing two or more crops in close proximity, selecting crops that make use of different soil resources to maximize land productivity without competing with each other. Careful planning is required to avoid competition over space, nutrients, water, or sunlight. Examples show how intercropping can provide structural support between crops or utilize different crop heights.

3. DIFFERENT WAYS OF GROWING CROPS TO
GIVE MAXIMUM BENEFIT.
THERE ARE 2 TYPES OF CROPPING
PATTERNS:
$ MIXED CROPPING
$ INTER CROPPING

5. more crops simultaneously on the
same piece of land. It is also known
as multiple cropping. This type of
cropping leads to an improvement in
the fertility of the soil and increases in
crop yield. The products and refuse
from one crop plant help in the
growth of the other crop plant and
vice-versa. Mixed cropping is an
insurance against crop failure in
abnormal weather conditions.It also
helps the farmer to improve its yield
and economy and avoid crop failure

6. line of another crop, both crops can get
better. In one line a legume and in another
line the main crop. So, if the main crop
takes the nitrogen from the soil, the
legume fixes the soil. Nitrogen is fixed in
the root nodules of the leguminous plants
in the form of nitrates (soluble form of
nitrogen) and keeps the soil fertile. This
helps the farmers to produce more and
more crops without the nitrogen being
depleted from the soil.
Mixed cropping is not the same as crop
rotation. In crop rotation you plant
different crops in the same field in different
years. Some plants add nitrogen to
the soil, some take it out. If you would

7. simultaneously in the same field. In general, the
theory is that planting multiple crops at once will
allow the crops to work together. Possible
benefits of mixed cropping are to balance input
and outgo of soil nutrients, to keep down weeds
and insect pests, to resist climate extremes
(wet, dry, hot, cold), to suppress plant diseases,
to increase overall productivity and to use
scarce resources to the fullest degree.
Agronomists studying mixed crops have had
mixed results determining if yield differences
can be achieved with mixed versus crops that
are singularly cultivated. If a combination of say,
wheat and chickpeas works in one part of the
world, it might not work in another. But, overall it
appears that measurably good effects result,

17. Intercropping is the practice of growing two or
more crops in proximity. The most common goal of
intercropping is to produce a greater yield on a given
piece of land by making use of resources that would
otherwise not be utilized by a single crop. Careful
planning is required, taking into account
the soil, climate, crops, and varieties. It is particularly
important not to have crops competing with each other
for physical space, nutrients, water, or sunlight.
Examples of intercropping strategies are planting a
deep-rooted crop with a shallow-rooted crop, or planting
a tall crop with a shorter crop that requires partial
shade. Inga alley cropping has been proposed as an
alternative to the ecological destruction of slash-and-
burn farming.

18. When crops are carefully selected, other
agronomic benefits are also achieved. Lodging-
prone plants, those that are prone to tip over in
wind or heavy rain, may be given structural support
by their companion crop.[3] Creepers can also
benefit from structural support. Some plants are
used to suppress weeds or
provide nutrients.[4] Delicate or light-sensitive plants
may be given shade or protection, or otherwise
wasted space can be utilized. An example is
the tropical multi-tier system
where coconut occupies the upper tier, banana
the middle tier, and pineapple, ginger, or
leguminous fodder, medicinal or aromatic
plants occupy the lowest tier.

19. The degree of spatial and temporal overlap in the two crops can vary
somewhat, but both requirements must be met for a cropping system to be an
intercrop. Numerous types of intercropping, all of which vary the temporal and
spatial mixture to some degree, have been identified.[6][7] These are some of the
more significant types:
•Mixed intercropping, as the name implies, is the most basic form in which the
component crops are totally mixed in the available space.
•Row cropping involves the component crops arranged in alternate rows.
Variations include alley cropping, where crops are grown in between rows of
trees, and strip cropping, where multiple rows, or a strip, of one crop are
alternated with multiple rows of another crop.
•Intercropping also uses the practice of sowing a fast growing crop with a slow
growing crop, so that the fast growing crop is harvested before the slow
growing crop starts to mature. This obviously involves some temporal
separation of the two crops.
•Further temporal separation is found in relay cropping, where the second
crop is sown during the growth, often near the onset of reproductive
development or fruiting, of the first crop, so that the first crop is harvested to
make room for the full development of the second