CROPPING SYSTEMS

• Background

Crop production started at least nine thousand (900) years ago when domestication
of plants became essential to supplement natural supplies in certain localities.
Cultivated plants are products of human achievement, discovery, which has
enabled man to provide his food and fiber needs with progressively less labor.

The first successful domestication of plants by man has recently been suggested to
occur in Thailand in Neolith times.

The value of lime, manures, and green manures for the maintenance of soil
productivity was recognized 200 years ago. Books on agriculture written by
Romans about 1st century AD describe the growing of common crops including
wheat, barley, clover and alfalfa by procedures very similar to those in use today
except that more of the work was done with hand and implements then used were
crude.

At the end of this chapter, students should be able to;

• Define cropping system

• Classify cropping systems

• Describe characteristics, advantages and disadvantages of each cropping

system

CROPPING SYSTEMS

Cropping system is the term used to describe the pattern in which crops are
grown in a given area over a period and includes the technical and managerial
resources that are utilized.
 CLASSIFICATION OF CROPPING SYSTEMS.

The following are criteria for classifying cropping systems.

i. The distribution of crops in time, i.e. whether shifting cultivation,

continuous cropping, monoculture and crop rotation is practiced.
ii. The distribution of crops in space on the field, i.e. whether intercropping
or sole cropping is practiced.
iii. The level of management and resources used to produce crops, i.e
whether production is intensive or extensive.
iv. The type of crop grown, i.e. whether orchard, arable cropping, pasturing,
forestry, etc.is practiced.
1. Shifting cultivation

In this system, the farm is not at a permanent location instead a piece of land
is cleared, farmed for a few years and then abandoned in preference for a
new site. While the new is being farmed, natural vegetation is allowed to
grow on the old site. Eventually, after several years of bush fallows, the
farmer returns to the original location.

Common characteristics of shifting cultivation

• The farmer first selects a site, which has been under bush fallow for several
years

• Clears vegetation by burning

• Crops are then grown on the field one, two or three years starting with crops
with high nutrients requirement and ending with crops having low nutrients
requirement.
 • Low level of technology, input and management

• Most of the operations are done by using simple hand tools and the labour
requirements are high while the yields are low.

Advantage of shifting cultivation.

• To maintain soil fertility because no over utilization of land.

Disadvantages of shifting cultivation

• It discourages high level of inputs

• It requires a great deal of land to maintain the system

• Low efficiency in land utilization

• Because the farms stays in one location only for a short time, there is no
incentive to invest in permanent structures such as store sheds, irrigation and
even certain pest control soil erosion or soil conservation measures that may
have long term benefits.

2. Continuous cropping In contrast to shifting cultivation, continuous

cropping implies the cultivation of the same piece of land year after year.

Advantages of continuous cropping

• Land utilization under continuous is extremely efficient

• It is possible and economical feasible, to erect permanent structure on the

farm site

Disadvantage
 • Land degradation due to continuous cropping which leads to nutrient
leaching and soil erosion

• Low productivity due to lack of nutrient

• Pest and disease resistance and persistence because no relay or resting of the
land so as to break the life cycle of the pest and disease.

3. Crop rotation

Crop rotation is the practice of growing different crops by alteration in the

same piece of land each year or growing season. This is normally done in
cycles so that after several years the cycle is repeated. A good rotation that
provides for maintenance or improvement of soil productivity usually
includes legume crops to promote fixation of nitrogen, a glass or legume
crops for improvement of humus, a cultivated or infertile crop for weed
control and fertilizer.

On a very large farm, it is advisable to divide the whole area into plots or blocks.
When this is done several crops can be grown; each crop in one block or plot.
Rotation is then done on each of the blocks or plots.

Table 1 Crop Rotation

Year BLOCK A BLOCK B BLOCK C BLOCK D

1 maize cassava beans Grass ley
2and 3 Grass ley maize cassava beans
4 beans Grass ley Maize Cassava
5 and 6 cassava beans Grass ley maize
Source: Sibuga K.K and Isengwa I.P (1986)

Advantages of crop rotation

 • It is good way of controlling diseases and plant pests. Plants of the same
family are usually attacked by similar pests and diseases. If a crop of
different family is grown, the pest or disease may not attack it and will
therefore not cause any loss.

• Crop rotation is an effective means of reducing soil erosion compared to

continuous cropping. Grass legumes mixtures in a rotation provides very
effective in reduction of soil erosion.

• There is efficient use of soil nutrients when heavy and light crops are
rotated.

• It gives farmer some insurance against crop failure, and enables him to
spread his labour needs.

4. Mono cropping.

This is the practice of cultivating the same type of crop on the same piece of
land year after year.

Advantage of Mono cropping

• The main advantage of monoculture is that it permit maximum

concentration of production effort on a single targeted crop

Disadvantages of Mono cropping

• In monoculture, diseases and pests of the particular crop always have their
host present, and therefore have the opportunity to build up over the years.

• It encourages rapid depletion of soil nutrients and destruction of the soil

structures.
 • The risk of crop failure is high and present.

5. Intercropping

The practice of growing one crop variety in pure stands on a field is referred
as sole cropping. In this practices only one crop variety occupies the land at
any one time. Growing two or more crops simultaneously planted in separate
rows is known as intercropping. Intercropping is generally practiced in
widely spaced crops e.g. maize, sorghum, millets, pigeon pea, sugarcane etc.
In the space left between the two rows which are generally more than 30 cm
apart a row of a legume such as green gram, common beans, black gram,
cowpea etc. or an oilseed such as groundnut can be easily grown. The two
crops may mature at the same time or the intercrop may mature earlier or
later than the main crop. The goal here is to maximize production from a
unit area.

Advantages of intercropping

• The crop may complement one another in their use of field time.

• The component crop may complement each other in their use of space.

• An intercrop may be able to utilize resources, which the main crop may not
be able to utilize or which may even be disadvantageous to it.

• Certain crops may exert specific beneficial effect on others.

• By having many crops, growing simultaneously on the field the farmer is

more or less buffered against failure of one of the crop.

• Intercropping allows for a uniform distribution of labour throughout the

year
Disadvantages of intercropping

• Since many crops exist together on the field, it is not possible adapt
production practices to the needs of any particular crop.

• Control of pests and diseases is particularly difficult because pesticides,

which have been developed to control a disease on one particular component
crop, may have deleterious effect on other crops in the combination.

• It is difficult to mechanize operations such as planting, weeding and

harvesting

6. Mixed farming

Definition

Mixed farming is the combination of crop production with animal production on

the same farm. Crops and livestock are integrated. Mixed farming is often
associated with density populated areas and urbanized and industrialized societies.

In mixed farming the crops grown are not only for providing food and income to
the farmer but also for feeding the livestock. The livestock are not only kept for
food and income but also for maintaining soil fertility. Usually a variety of crops
and livestock are produced in mixed farming.

Merits of mixed farming

• Even distribution of supply of food throughout the year:-since a variety of

crops are grown, crop produce will be available at different times during the
year. With keeping of livestock like dairy cow or poultry for example, one is
assured of daily supply of milk and eggs.
 • Regular income:-sale of milk and eggs provide income throughout the year.
Growing variety of crops also provide regular income as the crop ripen at
different times.

• Soil fertility maintenance may cost less:-the manure from the livestock is
used to fertilize the crop field and little or no industrial fertilizers are
required.

• More even spread of labor requirement throughout the year. Livestock

require daily attention so there is work to do each day. The crops in mixed
farming are produced in planned rotations and this helps to even out labor
requirement.

• Protection of farmer against risk due to pests and diseases and low prices.
Farmers will be in a good position in case of risk due in hazard, climatic
change, occurrence of pests and diseases to diversification of having mixed
farming.

Demerits of mixed farming

• Low returns to labor:-specialization in agriculture gives higher return to

labour and also better return to managerial skills than diversification in
agricultural production.

• Economies of scale are seldom realized in mixed farming:-usually the use

of machinery is done