When a single crop is planted in the same place every year, the soil structure slowly deteriorates as the same nutrients are used time and time again. After a few years, the soil becomes unhealthy, drained of those specific nutrients. Simultaneously, insect pests that feed on the single crop—and that spend their larval stage in the soil—become more prolific as their food source remains. These pests become harder to manage every year as their population increases.
As we know our farmer brother needs to undertake a number of activities on a routine basis. The activities take a troll on the time and money of the farmer. Fortunately as mankind has evolved, more and more systematic methods of farming have evolved. Farmers are using tools, equipment, and machinery to improve farm production and reducing their efforts as well. The farmers who are doing smart farming are making good profits by using new farming tools made with modern technology, which is increasing their income. However, even if one may have the most sophisticated tools and implements, but does not know how to use them, they are useless. In order to do agricultural operations successfully, one must have a good working knowledge of the tools, kunzite presents a video on the all types of farming eqipments. Like, farmers use tractors in farming for different purposes by attaching different equipment with it.
Crop rotation helps mitigate each of these effects. Different types of plants require different types of nutrients from the soil. Changing crops routinely allows the land to remain fertil. With crop rotation, particular nutrients are replenished depending on the crops that are planted. For example, a simple rotation between a heavy nitrogen using plant (e.g., corn) and a nitrogen depositing plant (e.g., soybeans) can help maintain a healthy balance of nutrients in the soil. Crop rotation also prevents plant diseases and pests by exchanging crops that may be susceptible to a particular disease or pest with a crop that is not susceptible. For example, although corn is affected by corn rootworms, soybeans are not. The soybeans help suppress the pest so that the corn planted the following year will not be as adversely affected by it.
Deep rooted crops should be succeeded by shallow rooted crops such as cotton, castor, pigeon pea-potato, lentil, green gram etc.
Dicot crops should be rotated by monocot crops such as mustard, potato- rice, wheat- sugarcane.
Leguminous crops should be succeeded by non-leguminous crops and vice versa (green gram- wheat).
Exhaustive crops should be succeeded with restorative crops such as potato, sorghum, sugarcane, castor- sunhemp, black gram, cowpea.
Grain crops should be followed by foliage crops such as, wheat- dhaincha, black gram.
Long duration crops should be succeeded by short duration crops such as sugarcane, napier, Lucerne- cowpea, black gram, ground nut.
Crops susceptible to soil borne pathogens and parasitic weeds should be followed by tolerant trap crops such as sugarcane- marigold, mustard (for nematodes); tobacco- rice, pulses (for orobanche); pearl millet- castor (for striga); lucern, berseem- oats (for cuscuta).
Crops with problematic weeds should be followed by clean crops/ multi cut crops and other dissimilar crops such as wheat- puddle rice for Phalaris minor; berseem- potato for Chicorium intybus; rice- vegetables for Echinochloa crusgalli.
Heavy irrigation and intensive labour requiring crops should be followed by less water and labour requiring crops such as sugarcane, paddy- mungbean and sesame.