In successive growing seasons, crops are alternated between in a process known as crop rotation. As long as there are at least two crops involved, fallow periods may also be included. The accumulation of pests and pathogens to a given crop may be prevented by rotating the crops that are grown each year.
If you’re studying how to grow potatoes, you could be aware that they help in weed suppression and might thus be followed by roots or legumes, which can be troubled by weeds.
Legumes fix nitrogen into the soil and could therefore be followed by either Potatoes or Brassicas (Include: cabbages, broccoli, etc.), which both enjoy a nutritious soil. Legumes include beans, soybeans, groundnuts, peas, etc.
Potatoes are excellent at getting the soil ready for other plants. Due to their extensive root systems, which help to loosen the soil, they are especially crucial for heavy soils. Potatoes can be replaced with medium-hardy root crops like carrot and beetroot once they have been harvested.
Plant leafy vegetables with modest yields, such as lettuce, radish, pea, and spinach, a year after harvesting your potatoes. Green manure will replenish organic matter in the soil and restore humus the next year. Green manure provides food for insects, which helps protects the soil from erosion and covers it to prevent drying out. Examples of green manure plants include beans and peas, mustard, and radish.
To sum up, let’s discuss on primary factors that make crop rotation advantageous:
- Plants that fix nitrogen, such legumes enhance the soil’s quality so that subsequent crops can be grown in the same bed.
- Plants with shallow and deep roots alternately in a specific area obtain nutrients from the soil at various depths.
- Soilborne pests that feed on a single plant family are inhibited, since their food source does not always exist in the same place.
- Crop rotation helps farmers avoid fallow as frequently as they might otherwise.