Cropping Patterns vs Systems

Cropping Pattern vs Cropping System

• Cropping pattern refers to the types and arrangement of crops over time and space.
• Cropping pattern considers the proportion of land dedicated to specific crops at a given time.
• It involves the yearly sequence and spatial arrangement of crops and fallow periods.
• Factors influencing a cropping pattern include climate (rainfall, temperature), soil type, and available technology.
• Cropping systems are a combination of cropping patterns and management practices designed to maximize benefits from available resources.
• The goal of a cropping system is to efficiently utilize resources such as land, water, and solar energy.
• A cropping system aims to maintain production stability and achieve higher returns.

Mono cropping

• Growing the same crop or a single crop on the same land year after year.
• Results in a 100% cropping intensity.
• Merits:
  • Produces higher quantities of specific crops.
  • Improves efficiency in farming operations.
  • Simplifies management procedures.
  • Potentially generates higher earnings.
• Demerits:
  • Increased susceptibility to widespread crop failures.
  • Reduces biodiversity in the agricultural ecosystem.
  • Increases vulnerability to harmful organisms (pests and diseases).
  • Continuous use of the same soil can lead to disease and pest build-up.
  • Soil degradation can occur, rendering land unusable.

Multiple Cropping

• Cultivating two or more crops on the same field within a year.
• Intensifies cropping in both time and space.
• Merits:
  • Maintains soil vigor and fertility, supporting long-term crop growth.
  • Promotes efficient utilization of resources like fertilizers and moisture, resulting in optimal productivity.
  • Effectively controls weed growth.
  • Reduces the incidence of pest and disease attacks.
  • Decreases the risk of economic loss due to crop failure.
  • Provides additional income for farmers.
  • Contributes to nutrient diversity in the farmers' food sources.
  • Helps control soil erosion.
• Demerits:
  • Large-scale mechanization is challenging as different machinery is required for different crops.
  • Intercultural operations like weeding, manuring, fertilizing, and irrigation become more complex in intercropping systems.
  • The incidence of pest and disease attacks can increase if suitable alternate hosts are present.

Multiple Cropping Types

• Intercropping
  • Two or more crops are grown simultaneously on the same land.
  • Aims to effectively utilize space and resources.
  • Types of intercropping:
    • Row intercropping
    • Patch intercropping
    • Strip intercropping
    • Multi-storied intercropping
    • Alley intercropping
• Characteristics of a good intercrop:
  • It should not negatively impact the growth and yield of the main crop.
  • It should mature earlier or later than the main crop.
  • Ideally, it should be a legume crop to maintain soil fertility and productivity.
  • It should have different growth habits and nutrient requirements.
  • It should have different rooting depths.
  • It should differ in canopy development and sunlight requirements.
• Mixed cropping
  • Seeds of different crops are mixed together and broadcasted.
  • Several crops are cultivated simultaneously on the same land without a fixed row pattern.
  • The main objective is to minimize the risk of total crop failure and provide farmers with food and fodder security.
  • Key differences between intercropping and mixed cropping:
    • Intercropping aims to utilize space efficiently, while mixed cropping is focused on risk reduction.
    • Intercropping uses specific planting patterns, while mixed cropping has no fixed planting pattern.
    • Separate fertilizers and pesticides are used for different crops in intercropping, but the same inputs are used for all crops in mixed cropping.
• Relay cropping
  • Two or more crops are grown simultaneously during their respective life cycles.
  • The succeeding crop is planted before harvesting the preceding crop.
  • The second crop is planted after the first has reached its reproductive stage but before harvest.
  • Examples: potato planted before maize harvest and radish planted before potato harvest.
• Sequence/Sequential cropping
  • Two or more crops are grown in quick succession on the same land in a single farming year.
  • Sowing the succeeding crop and harvesting the preceding crop occur almost simultaneously or in close succession.
  • No overlapping occurs between the cropping cycles.
  • Example: After maize harvest, potato is sown, and chili is sown after potato digging.
  • Types:
    • Double cropping: Two crops are grown sequentially in a year.
    • Triple cropping: Three crops are grown sequentially in a year.
    • Quadruple cropping: Four crops are grown sequentially in a year.
    • Ratoon cropping: Cultivating regrowth after harvest.

Cropping Intensity

• The ratio of total cropped area to the total farm area in a year, expressed as a percentage.
• Calculated as: (Actual cropped area / total farm area) * 100.
• Example: If a farmer has 20 hectares of land, and 18 hectares are cropped in one season and 12 in another, the cropping intensity is (18 + 12) / 20 * 100 = 150%.

Land Equivalent Ratio (LER)

• Represents the relative land area needed under sole cropping to produce the yield achieved through intercropping.
• Calculated as: (Yield of base crop in intercropping / Yield of base crop in sole cropping) + (Yield of intercrop in intercropping / Yield of intercrop in sole cropping).
• LER > 1 indicates a benefit from intercropping, while LER < 1 suggests a disadvantage.