AGRICULTURE

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

MIXED CROPPING

Mixed cropping is growing of two or 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 which was very common in India and Asian countries.

By planting one line of one crop, then a 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 plant the same crop year after year, you wear out your soil.

Another simple definition of mixed cropping:Mixed cropping is a type of agriculture that involves planting two or more of plants 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, when the right combination of crops are cropped together.

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INTER CROPPING

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.

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.

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

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