Farms come in all shapes and sizes, from a thousand-acre field planted in corn to a quarter-acre parcel supporting thirty different types of vegetables. One of the key differences between these two examples is the amount of crop diversity present.
Increasing the types of crops present in an area can provide numerous ecological and economic benefits. Since the exact type of diversity affects the impacts, it’s difficult to generalize which benefits result from crop diversity on your land. However, planting a greater variety of crops often leads to the following advantages.
Types of Crop Diversification
When people talk about crop diversity, they may be referring to one of a few different farming practices. While crop diversification always involves increasing the number of species present in a growing area, this can look a few different ways.
Crop rotation involves rotating crops or crop families from one growing period to the next. For example, farmers may plant corn in their fields one year and soybeans the next or grow a spring crop of arugula followed by a fall crop of carrots.
Intercropping means planting two or more different crops in the same growing space. One example is growing a row of tomatoes with lettuce on the edges of the beds.
Cover cropping involves planting crops with the intention of improving growing conditions rather than obtaining a harvest. Growers may plant winter rye in the fall to protect the soil over the winter or grow cowpeas in the summer to add nitrogen to the soil.
Increase Yields
One of the most common rotations on commodity farms is the corn and soybean rotation. Farmers plant corn one year and soybeans the following year. While this crop rotation provides some diversity, what if growers added other crops into these rotations?
Researchers in Ontario found that implementing a more diverse crop rotation allowed the corn and soybeans to better handle years with extreme weather events. In turn, this led to an increase in yields.
Another study examined the impacts of implementing crop rotations and diverse cover crop mixtures while foregoing any fertilizer or pesticide applications. Researchers found that corn grown in a corn/soybean/wheat rotation and with a mixture of three cover crops had yields 100% higher than corn grown in monoculture.
The wheat and soybean crops also showed higher yields with more diverse plantings, but the increased yields weren’t strongly correlated with the number of species. Therefore, it’s important to note that each species responds differently to increased crop diversity.
Prevent the Buildup of Disease and Pests
Many common plant diseases and pests are species or family-specific. Rotating crop families throughout fields means these pathogens experience a break in food sources and a decline in populations. However, it’s important to recognize that crop rotation works better for managing some diseases and pests than others.
Diseases that survive on plant tissue are prime candidates for disruption via crop rotation. For example, bacterial spot on tomatoes and peppers survives on plant tissue, so avoiding planting these crops in the same field two years in a row will decrease the disease. However, since Fusarium wilt and rhizoctonia live in the soil, crop rotations won’t cause a decline in their populations.
Provide Habitat for Natural Predators
Although some insects are pests that plague the crops we hope to harvest, many other insects are natural predators that help keep pests in check. Since these predators don’t just feed on a single crop (or the pests they attract), planting a diversity of crops can help keep the good bugs around.
While predatory insects like parasitic wasps, hoverflies, green lacewings, and others feed on pests, some of their life stages prefer pollen and/or nectar. Therefore, planting a diverse array of flowering plants will help keep these predators fed and happy.
Increasing crop diversity also provides varied habitats where the predators can shelter. When their habitat needs are met, they are more likely to remain near the crops that pests are targeting.
Improve Water Quality
When we grow a single crop in the same area over and over, we often have to rely on synthetic fertilizers and pesticides to grow healthy plants. Inevitably, some of these products wash out of the soil and into local waterways, leading to a decrease in water quality. Increasing crop diversity lowers our reliance on these products and improves water quality.
Adding cover crops into rotations helps keep soil in place when cash crops aren’t growing. This limits erosion and helps keep waterways free from sediment.
Increase Resilience
When we’re growing more than one crop at once, we decrease the odds that a pest or disease will wreck our entire harvest. Since most diseases and pests are family or genus-specific, it’s unlikely that they’ll wipe out an entire crop of tomatoes, okra, and sweet corn. However, if you only plant one of these crops, you’re more likely to experience a total crop failure.
Planting a diversity of crops can prove beneficial during extreme weather events. Some plants are better able to stand up to drought and heavy rains than others, so planting multiple crops increases the odds that some of the plants will make it through.
This Gardener Gets Tomato Harvests Year-Round With This Unique Growing Strategy
Can’t get enough of fresh tomatoes? Take what one gardener has learned and discover growing tips and strategies for enjoying fresh tomatoes year-round.
ADVERTISEMENT:
Hello, sobat pengemar slots Pernah mendengar istilah “slot gacor”? Kalau tidak, bersiaplah jatuh hati sama program ini. slot gaco merupakan mesin slots yang selalu kasih kemenangan. Yup, slot-slot ini bisa dibilang sebagai andalannya tuk membawa come back cuan. but, gimana sih
tekniknya nemuin slot gacor yang tepat? Santuy Bro and Sis, kita beri tenang aja di sini
Game terbaik waktu sekarang hanya satu berada Indonesia yaitu akan menyediakan ROI terbesar
Daftar hanya di :
Informasi mengenai KING SLOT, Segera Daftar Bersama king selot terbaik dan terpercaya no satu di Indonesia. Boleh mendaftar melalui sini king slot serta memberikan hasil kembali yang paling tinggi saat sekarang ini hanyalah KING SLOT atau Raja slot paling gacor, gilak dan gaco saat sekarang di Indonesia melalui program return tinggi di kingselot serta pg king slot
slot demo gacor
slot demo gacor permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kdwapp.com
akun demo slot gacor
akun demo slot gacor permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kdwapp.com
akun slot demo gacor
akun slot demo gacor permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kdwapp.com
akun demo slot pragmatic
akun demo slot pragmatic permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kdwapp.com
akun slot demo pragmatic
akun slot demo pragmatic permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kdwapp.com
akun slot demo
akun slot demo permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kdwapp.com
akun demo slot
akun demo slot permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kdwapp.com
slot demo gacor
slot demo gacor permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama jebswagstore.com
akun demo slot gacor
akun demo slot gacor permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama jebswagstore.com
akun slot demo gacor
akun slot demo gacor permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama jebswagstore.com
akun demo slot pragmatic
akun demo slot pragmatic permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama jebswagstore.com
akun slot demo pragmatic
akun slot demo pragmatic permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama jebswagstore.com
akun slot demo
akun slot demo permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama jebswagstore.com
akun demo slot
akun demo slot permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama jebswagstore.com
slot demo gacor
slot demo gacor permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama demoslotgacor.pro
akun demo slot gacor
akun demo slot gacor permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama demoslotgacor.pro
akun slot demo gacor
akun slot demo gacor permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama demoslotgacor.pro
akun demo slot pragmatic
akun demo slot pragmatic permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama demoslotgacor.pro
akun slot demo pragmatic
akun slot demo pragmatic permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama demoslotgacor.pro
akun slot demo
akun slot demo permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama demoslotgacor.pro
akun demo slot
akun demo slot permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama demoslotgacor.pro
slot demo gacor
slot demo gacor permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama situsslotterbaru.net
akun demo slot gacor
akun demo slot gacor permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama situsslotterbaru.net
akun slot demo gacor
akun slot demo gacor permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama situsslotterbaru.net
akun demo slot pragmatic
akun demo slot pragmatic permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama situsslotterbaru.net
akun slot demo pragmatic
akun slot demo pragmatic permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama situsslotterbaru.net
akun slot demo
akun slot demo permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama situsslotterbaru.net
akun demo slot
akun demo slot permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama situsslotterbaru.net
situs slot terbaru
situs slot terbaru permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama situsslotterbaru.net
slot terbaru
slot terbaru permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama situsslotterbaru.net
soda96 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama soda96.com
sparta88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama sparta88.biz
sugesbola88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama sugesbola88.org
tektok7777 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama tektok7777.com
tektok88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama tektok88.biz
toinktoto88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama toinktoto88.com
tokek888slot permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama tokek888slot.com
topslot888 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama topslot888.biz
tuanslot888 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama tuanslot888.club
uang88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama uang88.biz
uang8888 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama uang8888.com
userslot88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama userslot88.info
uus88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama uus88.biz
waslot88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama waslot88.asia
wayantogel88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama wayantogel88.com
zona666 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama zona666.biz
zona88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama zona88.biz
slot96 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama slot96.biz
arjuna69 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama arjuna69.com
hqtoto88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama hqtoto88.com
bangshun88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama bangshun88.com
btc999 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama btc999.org
supraslot888 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama supraslot888.net
sortoto88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama sortoto88.net
logamtoto88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama logamtoto88.net
goslot777 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama goslot777.info
gebyar88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama gebyar88.biz
botak88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama botak88.biz
ibis88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama ibis88.asia
autobot777slot permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama autobot777slot.com
jwmarriott88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama jwmarriott88.com
reddoorz88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama reddoorz88.com
hotelharris88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama hotelharris88.com
novotel88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama novotel88.com
orientalplay88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama orientalplay88.com
oyo88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama oyo88.live
agoda88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama agoda88.asia
tiket88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama tiket88.asia
santika88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama santika88.org
grandaston88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama grandaston88.com
booking88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama booking88.org
grandmercure88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama grandmercure88.com
tripadvisor88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama tripadvisor88.com
hotelmulia88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama hotelmulia88.com
aryaduta88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama aryaduta88.com
shangrila88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama shangrila88.com
holidayinn88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama holidayinn88.com
antam88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama antam88.info
