Help!!! anyone good in farming or agriculture? Well, If you are , then help me , will ya??!!

Question

Well, does anyone know the difference between mixed cropping and crop rotation?

Answer 1

The first answer is very correct.  Crop rotation is important to modern agriculture because many crops are now grown in larger consintrations than the historically were and newer hybreds lead to more aggressive plants which take more nutrients out of the soil.  On our farm we rotate corn, soybeans, oats and alfalfa.  Diffent plants add things to the soil that other plants need.

Answer 2

Another name for mixed cropping is intercropping.  In intercropping, there is often one main crop and one or more added crops, with the main crop being the one of primary importance because of economic or food production reasons. The two or more crops used in an intercrop may be from different species and different plant families, or they may simply be different varieties or cultivars of the same crop species, such as mixing two kinds of wheat seed in the same field.

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.

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. 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.

Intercropping of compatible plants also encourages biodiversity, by providing a habitat for a variety of insects and soil organisms that would not be present in a single crop environment. This biodiversity can in turn help to limit outbreaks of crop pests (Altieri 1994) by increasing the diversity or abundance of natural enemies, such as spiders or parasitic wasps. Increasing the complexity of the crop environment through intercropping also limits the places where pests can find optimal foraging or reproductive conditions.

As for crop rotation, it is the practice of growing a series of dissimilar types of crops in the same space in sequential seasons for various benefits such as to avoid the build up of pathogens and pests that often occurs when one species is continuously cropped.

Crop rotation avoids a decrease in soil fertility, as growing the same crop repeatedly in the same place eventually depletes the soil of various nutrients. A crop that leaches the soil of one kind of nutrient is followed during the next growing season by a dissimilar crop that returns that nutrient to the soil or draws a different ratio of nutrients, for example, rices followed by cottons. By crop rotation farmers can keep their fields under continuous production, without the need to let them lie fallow, and reducing the need for artificial fertilizers, both of which can be expensive. Rotating crops add nutrients to the soils.

Legumes, plants of the family Fabaceae, for instance, have nodules on their roots which contain nitrogen-fixing bacteria. It therefore makes good sense agriculturally to alternate them with cereals (family Poaceae) and other plants that require nitrates. A common modern crop rotation is alternating soybeans and maize (corn). In subsistence farming, it also makes good nutritional sense to grow beans and grain at the same time in different fields.

Crop rotation is also used to control pests and diseases that can become established in the soil over time. Plants within the same taxonomic family tend to have similar pests and pathogens. By regularly changing the planting location, the pest cycles can be broken or limited. For example, root-knot nematode is a serious problem for some plants in warm climates and sandy soils, where it slowly builds up to high levels in the soil, and can severely damage plant productivity by cutting off circulation from the plant roots. Growing a crop that is not a host for root-knot nematode for one season greatly reduces the level of the nematode in the soil, thus making it possible to grow a susceptible crop the following season without needing soil fumigation.

It is also difficult to control weeds similar to the crop which may contaminate the final produce. For instance, ergot in weed grasses is difficult to separate from harvested grain. A different crop allows the weeds to be eliminated, breaking the ergot cycle.

This principle is of particular use in organic farming, where pest control may be achieved without synthetic pesticides.

A general effect of crop rotation is that there is a geographic mixing of crops, which can slow the spread of pests and diseases during the growing season. The different crops can also reduce the effects of adverse weather for the individual farmer and, by requiring planting and harvest at different times, allow more land to be farmed with the same amount of machinery and labor.

The choice and sequence of rotation crops depends on the nature of the soil, the climate, and precipitation which together determine the type of plants that may be cultivated. Other important aspects of farming such as crop marketing and economic variables must also be considered when choosing a crop rotation.

Crop rotation can be used with intercropping.  Let's say that you have your garden divided into four quadrants (A, B, C, D).  In each quadrant you have a different intercropping pattern.  Each year you would rotate the crops around so one particular crop would be in quadrant A every fourth year (and so on for each of the other quadrants.

Answer 3

Mixed cropping would be easy to think of if you think of the Native American Indians.  They use to grow corn, beans, and squash all together on the same plots of land.  

The corn grew up and shaded the squash.  The beans could climb up the corn stalks, and didn't need to be staked like modern farmers do.  

The beans also fixed nitrogen into the soil.  Corn uses a huge amount of nitrogen to grow.

This was called the "three sisters," or "the holy trinity."

Crop rotation is where a farmer will grow something like corn one year, then grow alfalfa for several years, then possibly soy beans, and then back to corn.

Or where I live, farmers grow potatoes one year, then wheat the next.  Sometimes they will also grow a sugar beet crop.  The crops are not mixes, as with the Indians Three Sisters way of cropping.

Modern farming does not usually handle mixed cropping well.  Everything is harvested by machines now.  With mixed cropping, the crops almost always have to be harvested by hand.  

Mixed cropping is usually much more productive (produces a lot more food), but is much more laber intensive to harvest.

~Garnet

Permaculture homesteading/farming over 20 years  

Answer 4

I think, mixed is just that you randomly mix the crop with all the varieties you intend to plant.

If you Rotate your crop then you have your field planted in a very specific pattern, and rotate that pattern each year.

I might have my Tomatoes followed by my Corn followed by my Carrots, for example.

The following year I would plant Carrots > Tomatoes > Corn ...

the following year I would plant Corn > Carrots > Tomatoes...

each year I rotate my crop

This is my guess anyhow....