Crop rotation of vegetable crops is the basis for increasing their yield

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

For a long time, many farmers could not understand the reasons why the yield of an agricultural crop decreases when it is grown in the same place for several years. The first harvest, even under unfavorable conditions, always turned out to be larger than the subsequent ones, although the agricultural technique of cultivation remained at the same level, and often even improved - organic fertilizers were applied, the soil became more fertile. The reasons for the decline in yields in monocropping have become relatively clear due to the accumulation of knowledge about the soil.

Reasons for yield decline

During the vegetation of agricultural crops, microorganisms and fungi accumulate in the soil, living at the expense of a particular plant. Their number is constantly increasing. The vegetable crop itself, in the process of growth and subsequent fruiting, removes from the soil a set of nutrients that are characteristic of this particular species. All this contributes to there-planting of similar plants in the same place, they are affected by the microflora of previous plantings. Growth slows down, conditions for subsequent fruiting worsen. Vegetables are forced to fight for their existence, consuming part of the nutrients for this struggle.

"Black steam" as a means of restoring the fertility of the earth

Man has long noticed these features. Therefore, when sowing cultivated plants, large tracts of land remained unused in some years, the so-called “black fallow” was created, on which the land “rested”. It was only plowed up, but nothing was planted. A whole theory was created for the cultivation of various crops. Up to a third of the sown area remained fallow. It seemed to be wasteful. But the reality proved the opposite - the land, "rested" during the season, next year pleased with such high yields that it completely compensated for the losses during the year of downtime. Hundreds of examples of the positive impact of fallow farming on increasing soil fertility are given in the works of domestic scientists of the 19th century and their followers. Statistics with their inexorability proved that the earth is a living being that should be treated with care.

Crop rotation is a discovery of researchers

Numerous experiments have proven that the preservation of soil fertility and even its increase can be achieved if vegetable crops are rotated. It is important to change vegetables so that returning to the same planting sitespecific crop occurred no earlier than seven years later. When alternating crops, you need to know which family certain plants belong to. For example, cruciferous - radishes, carrots, cabbage - it is undesirable to plant one after another on the same plot.

Country crop rotation

Crop rotation in the country should be organized so that some cultivated plants are replaced by others from other families. After growing cabbage on the same bed, you can plant tomatoes - they belong to the nightshade. After tomatoes, peppers or eggplants should not be sown, since these are plants of the same family and their pests are the same. Crop rotation of vegetable crops should be regularly monitored, so it is advisable to have a planting log. To make better use of the land, you need to break the plot for the garden into permanent beds. Here the technology of Professor Mittlider can be applied, who recommends the use of narrow ridges with wide passages between them. He also suggests using wide beds, but with sides, for which, for example, boards are used. Inside the boxes from the boards, permanent beds are created. No one steps on their fertile layer with their feet, only plants grow there. The paths between the beds in the summer cottage can be laid out with any materials, for example, bricks. Then dirt will never stick to the gardener's shoes.

CV

The use of advanced technologies will help to competently organize crop rotation of vegetablescrops so as not to lack vegetables. The rational alternation of plants is described in the literature, but the most important conclusion can be formulated as follows: "Only a competent change of some plants by others will allow you to get a high yield of crops every year." Crop rotation of vegetable crops with the simultaneous use of organic farming methods, which is advocated by many modern vegetable growers, will allow not only to receive a guaranteed harvest. It allows and steadily increase soil fertility. It is important not only to get fruits and root crops this year, but also to leave fertile land to children and grandchildren so that they can also taste fresh cucumber or tomato from their garden.