Here is a list of few important cropping and farming systems widely used in agriculture.
1. Shifting Cultivation/Land Rotation/Jhumming:
i. Forest land is cleared and cultivated. Due to cultivation of the same crop generally rice on the same cleared forest land year after year; soil productivity is lost. And the crop is shifted to other slashed and burnt land.
ii. Here same crop is grown year after year. In this case land is rotated but crop is fixed. Therefore it may also be called land rotation.
iii. Shifting of land hence called shifting cultivation. Also called Jhum cultivation.
iv. It causes soil erosion.
v. Practiced in northeastern states of India, Chhotanagpur plateau of Jharkhand, M.P. and in Hilly areas.
2. Crop Rotation:
i. Crop rotation is about reverse of land rotation. Here land is fixed but crop is rotated year after year.
ii. On a certain land, repeated cultivation of crops or crop and fallow land in a certain sequence is called crop rotation.
Rice-Wheat – Moong- 2008 -09 (Agl. Year)
Rice – Mustard – Chilli- 2009 -10
Here Wheat is rotated by mustard and Moong by chilli in the next Agriculture year.
iii. Maintains and even improves soil fertility and stabilise income.
iv. It checks the soil erosion and conserves moisture.
v. Ensures a balanced programme of work throughout the year.
vi. Suitable crop rotation is the key of modern scientific agriculture which aims to produce max yield by maintaining soil productivity.
3. Sustainable Agriculture/Eco-Farming:
The concept of sustainable agriculture has come up because yields from modern farming technique (modern Commercial Agriculture) reaching a plateau and the environmental problems due to excessive use of chemicals and fertilizers and pesticides residue in food chain.
Sustainable agriculture is that form of farming which produces sufficient food to meet the needs of the present generation without eroding the ecological assets and productivity of life supporting systems of future generations.
Natural farming is an excellent illustration of sustainable Agriculture. It is also known as ecological farming/eco-farming or Organic farming or Permaculture. It is called eco farming because ecological balance is given importance and organic farming because organic matter is the main source for nutrient management.
It is a system of cultivation with use of manures, crop rotation and minimal tillage. Sustainable agriculture also involves agroforestry and multi- level cultivation and integrated animal husbandry. The term sustainability denotes the characteristic of a process that can be maintained indefinitely and sustainable use of the eco system refers to making use of the system without impairing its capacity for renewal or regeneration.
4. Mixed Farming:
It is defined as a system of farming on a particular farm which includes crop production, raising livestock, poultry, fisheries, bee keeping etc. to sustain and satisfy as many needs of the farmer as possible. The objective of mixed farming is subsistence while higher profitability without altering ecological balance is important in farming systems. Cropping system is an important component of a farming system.
5. Sole Cropping/Solid Planting:
It is opposite of inter cropping. It is defined as the cultivation of one crop variety alone in pure stands at normal density in a certain time and place.
Cropping Scheme:
The plan according to which crops are raised on individual plots of a farm with an object of getting the maximum returns from each crop without impairing the soil fertility. Soil fertility and crop yields are important factors in determining which cropping programme to follow, but at the same time, the amount of labour and capital required and prices in relation to the resources influence the adoption of a particular cropping scheme.
6. Monoculture:
Monoculture also called single cropping or Monocropping. A system of growing the same crop on the same land year after year.
Cropping Intensity/Cropping Index:
CI = No. of Crops grown in a year x 100
Cropping Intensity in India is about 136 %
7. Multiple Cropping:
Growing of two or more crops on same field in a year. It is the intensification of cropping in time and space dimensions i.e. more number of crops within a year and more no. of crops on the same piece of land at any given period. The Principal limiting factors in adoption of multiple cropping are low intensity of irrigation and preponderance of long duration varieties.
Recently one more dimension i.e. to maintain the soil fertility, is added in the definition of multiple cropping. Thus multiple cropping is defined as the cultivation of two or more crops on the same field in a year without deteriorating the soil fertility.
The types of multiple cropping are:
A. Inter-Cropping
B. Mixed Cropping
C. Sequential or sequence cropping or non – overlapping cropping
D. Relay cropping or overlapping cropping.
Growing two or more crops simultaneously on the same piece of land with a definite row arrangement or in a fixed ratio is called intercropping e.g.-
Wheat + Mustard = 9:1
Setaria + Red gram = 5:1
Here cropping intensity in space dimension is achieved. Such crops are usually grown along with those crops which have larger row interval. Intercropping includes alley cropping, strip cropping, contour cropping, paired row cropping, and skip cropping, parallel cropping.
But the major intercroppings are:
(i) Parallel Cropping:
Cultivation of such crops which have different natural habit and zero competition e.g.-
Black gram/Green gram + Maize
The peak nutrient demand period for Urad or Mung is around 30- 35 days after sowing (DAS) while it is 50 days after sowing for Maize.
(ii) Companion Cropping:
Such intercropping where the production of both intercrops is equal to that of its solid planting .e.g.- Mustard/Potato/Onion + Sugarcane.
The growing of the above three intercrops individually with sugar cane, the production of none is hardly affected.
(iii) Multistoried/Multi-Tiered/Multilevel Cropping:
Cultivation of two or more than two crops of different heights simultaneously on a certain piece of land in any certain period, e.g.-
Sugarcane + Mustard + Onion/Potato
System of cropping where short duration quick growing fruits and vegetables, food and fodder crops are grown in between the interspaces of principal horticultural fruits and plantation crops to utilize the leisure period of growth and development of the principal crops. Such cropping is useful in both plains and hilly areas. It utilizes solar energy and soil
effectively. The canopy orientation of component crops and localization of root system at different zones are the tools of this system.
The practice of growing different crops of varying rooting pattern and duration is called multistoried cropping. The objective is to utilize the vertical space more effectively. It is based on the principle of annidation in space e.g. –
(iv) Synergetic Cropping:
The yields of both crops are higher than of their pure crops on unit area basis e.g.- Sugarcane + Potato.
On the basis of percent of plant population used for each crop in intercropping system, intercropping is of two types viz.:
(a) Additive series and
(b) Replacement series
(a) Additive Series Intercropping:
In such type of inter cropping, one crop is main crop or base crop and another crop is intercrop. Intercrop is introduced into the base crop by adjusting or changing crop geometry i.e. addition of intercrop to the base crop. Here plant population of base crop is same to what recommended population in pure stand whereas that of intercrop is less.
Cropping husbandry is according to the base crop. This type of intercropping is prevalent in India and its main objective is to get additional income and to cover risk. e.g. – sowing of potato in the field of sugarcane in between the rows of cane at a 90 cm.
(b) Replacement Series Intercropping:
Both the crops are potent crops. Neither is the base crop nor is the intercrop. It means the plant population of both component crops is less than their recommended population in pure stand. Such type is widely practiced in western countries.
Here 10th row of wheat crop is replaced by mustard and row to row distance of wheat crop is somewhat reduced to adjust the mustard crop.
Pre-Requisites of Successful Intercropping:
The main objective of intercropping is to get higher productivity per unit area in addition to stability in production. Intercropping utilizes resources efficiently.
There are certain important Pre-requisites of intercropping:
(i) The time of peak nutrient demands of component crops should not overlap.
Maize + Urad/Moong.
The peak nutrient demand is 30 – 35 days after sowing in case of Urad/moong where as it is 50-55 days after sowing for maize.
(ii) Competition for light should be minimum among the component crops.
(iii) Complementarity should exist between the component crops.
(iv) The differences in maturity of component crops should be at least 30 days.
(v) Competition for CO2 and water should also be minimum among component crops.
Cultivation of two or more than two crops simultaneously on the same land without definite row pattern or fixed ratio. Sowing of seeds is generally by broadcasting method and commonly practiced in dry land area of India. It is subsistence farming. Its main objective is to lessen the risk of total crop failures, and to satisfy the farmers in food and fodder. Intercropping is the new concept of mixed cropping. Scientific study of mixed cropping was firstly done by La – Flitze (1928).
C. Sequence/Sequential Cropping:
Growing of two or more crops in quick succession on the same piece of land in a farming year. The sowing of the succeeding crop and harvesting of the preceding crop may be done simultaneously or in a quick succession e.g. just after the harvesting of Maize, Potato is sown, and just after digging of potato, Chili is sown. Sequential cropping is also called non-overlapping cropping because there is no overlap between the two or more cropping.
Ratooning or Ratoon cropping may also be classified under sequential cropping.
D. Relay Cropping:
Its concept has been derived from Relay race in which four runners run in the field having flag in their hand. The first runner passes on its flag to the succeeding partner and 2nd to 3rd and 3rd to the 4th runner. Relay cropping can be defined as growing two or more crops simultaneously during the part of the life cycle of each. Succeeding crops planted before harvesting the preceding crop.
Generally 2nd crop is planted after the first crop has reached its reproductive stage of growth but before it is ready for harvest e.g.-Potato is planted before the harvesting of Maize and Radish is shown before harvesting of potato. Paira (Bihar & W.B.) or Utera (M.P.) cropping may be example of relay cropping. Paira or utera cropping means sowing of Lathyrus or lentil (generally pulses) before the harvesting of rice in lowland area. Planting of nursery crop may also be an example of relay cropping. Relay cropping is also called overlapping cropping.
Dr. Sher Singh Bains has suggested the following relay cropping pattern for north west part of India-
Moong – Maize – Potato – Wheat
Choice of Crops for Multiple Intensive Cropping:
1. The crops should be arranged in such a way that Allopathic effect, temporary immobilization of nutrients and depletion of nutrients from the same layer of soil do not occur.
2. Legumes have a definite place in any cropping system because of their limited demand on resources like water, nutrients and light, their adaptability to varying environmental conditions and capacity to fix atmospheric N in root nodules.
3. Vegetables deserve their due place in intensive cropping because:
(i) Of high cash and nutritional values,
(ii) Most vegetables can be raised as seedlings and planted, thus reducing main field duration and competition with the associated crop.
(iii) They can be grown in interspaces in orchards and plantations.
(iv) They can be inter or relay cropped in cereal base crops.
4. Short duration, photoperiod insensitive genotypes are best suited for intensive cropping systems.
To develop the Mars (Planet) according to the Earth’s environment is called Terra- forming. At present bacteria and plants are being developed by creating the environmental conditions of Mars on the Earth.
In such technique plants are grown without soil in the aerated moist atmosphere with the help of very small quantity of water. Through this technique any plant can be grown at any time.
Since plants are grown in clean and controlled atmosphere, there is no chance of spread of insect- pests and diseases. It saves 98% water, 60% chemical fertilizer and 100% pesticides. This technique was come into existence when American Space Agency NASA in 1997 had tried to grow pods of bean in Mir Space Station of Russia.
Here, seeds or propagules are hanged in the air and its roots are grown in controlled aerated atmosphere where roots are kept always moist with the nutrient rich spray.