Cropping Systems

SYSTEM:

System means a set of elements/components that are inter-related and interacting among themselves

OBJECTIVE: 

Of any cropping system is efficient utilization of all resources viz. Land , water and solar radiation, maintaining stability in production and obtaining higher net returns

The objective of traditional agriculture was to increase the production by two means- 

a) by increasing the area of cultivation

b) by increasing the productivity per unit area of the crop

Two more dimensions are added to modern agriculture -

c) to increase the production per unit time 

d) to increase the production per unit space 

Whereas modern scientific cropping system has three pillars-

a) Genotype

b) Geometry of planting

c) Management practices

a) Genotype means genetic make up of seed

b) Geometry of planting means 

1) Shape of planting pattern on the land surface 

2) Space of area available for the individual plant 

Geometry of planting may be Circular , rectangular, square type or Cuboidal 

PLANT POPULATION:

 plant Population may be defined as-

a) Size of area available to the individual plant 

b) Number of plants per unit area

3) Management practices: 

Include all the practices of crop production

For the cropping systems, management includes, 

a)Type and arrangement of crops in time and space i.e. cropping pattern

b) Choice of variety

c) Method of stand establishment

d) Pest management and harvest

CROPPING PATTERN: means

Type and arrangement of crops in time and space 

CROPPING SYSTEM:    Means

Croping patterns and it's management to derive benefits from a given resource base under specific environmental condition. 

Cropping system - Cropping Pattern + Management

It changes when place and environment are changed .It means cropping system is location specific

FARMING SYSTEM:

 It represent an appropriate combination of farm enterprises viz. Croping system, livestock, poultry, fisheries, forestry and the means available to the farmer to raise them for increasing profitability.

MIXED FARMING: 

Defined  as a system of farming on a particular farm which includes crop production, raising livestock, poultry , fisheries, bee keeping to sustain and satisfy as many needs of the farmer as possible

Objective of Mixed farming:

Is subsitance while higher profitability without altering ecological balance is important in farming systems.

SOLE CROPPING/ SOLID PLANTING:

It is defined as the cultivation of one crop variety alone in pure stands at normal density in a certain time and place

CROPPING SCHEME:

The plan according to which crops are raised on individual plots of a farm with an object of getting the maximum returns from each crop without impairing the soil fertility

MONOCULTURE:

Monoculture also called Single cropping or Monocropping 

A system of growing the same crop on the same land year after year

Crop Intensity/ Cropping index-

CI= No of Crops grown in a year × 100

Cropping Intensity in India is about 136%

TYPES OF CROPPING SYSTEMS:

 Mono Cropping - CI is always 100%

MULTIPLE CROPPING:

  Growing of two or more crops on same field in a year without deteorating the soil fertility.

MULTIPLE CROPPING:

-Inter Cropping

- Mixed Cropping

- Sequential or sequence cropping or non overlapping cropping 

- Relay cropping or Overlapping cropping

INTERCROPPING:

Growing two or more crops simultaneously on the same piece of land with a definite row arrangement or in a fixed ratio is called intercroping

e.g. 

Wheat+ Mustard = 9:1

Setaria + Red gram 5:1

But the major intercroping are

1) Parallel Cropping:

Cultivation of such crops which have different natural habit and zero competition 

e.g . Black gram/ Green gram +Maize 

2) Companion Cropping :

Such intercropping where the production of both intercrops is equal to that of its solid planting 

e.g . Mustard / Potato/ Onion / Sugarcane

3) Multistoreyed/ Multilevel Cropping :

Cultivation of two or more than two crops of different heights simultaneously on a certain piece of land in any certain period 

e.g. Sugarcane + Mustard+ Onion / Potato 

4) Synergetic Cropping:

The yields of both crops are higher than of their pure crops on unit area basis 

e. g. Sugarcane+ Potato 

On the basis of percent of plant population used for each crop in intercropping system , intercropping is of two types 

viz . additive series and replacement series

a) Additive series intercropping:

In such type of intercropping one crop is main crop or base crop and another crop is intercrop 

This type of intercropping is prevalent in India and its main objective is to get additional income is prevalent in India and its main objective is to get additional income and to cover risk.

e.g 

Sowing of potato in the field of sugarcane in between the rows of cane at a 90 cm

b) Replacement Series Intercropping:

Both the crops are component crops. Neither is the base crop nor is the intercrop

Mixed CROPPING:

Cultivation of two or more than two crops simultaneously on the same land without definite row pattern or fixed ratio

Scientific study of mixed cropping was firstly done by La- Flitze (1928)

SEQUENCE/ SEQUENTIAL CROPPING:

Growing of two or more crops in a quick succession on the same piece of land in a farming year. 

The sowing of succeeding crop and harvesting of the preceding crop may be done simultaneously or in a quick succession

e.g. Just after the harvesting of Maize , Potato is down , and just after digging of potato , chilli is sown .

Sequential cropping is also called non over-overlapping cropping because there is no overlap between the two or more cropping

RELAY CROPPING:

Growing two or more   crops simultaneously during the part of the life cycle of each .

Relay cropping is also called overlapping cropping

Dr. Sher Singh Bains has suggested the following relay cropping pattern for North West part of India

Moong- Maize - Potato - Wheat

✍️Agricos 

Vaishnavi Nimkar 🌾🌱