Crop Rotation and its importance to organic farming

I took a Fruit and Vegetable Production class in college and wrote this paper on crop rotation. If you've read my other posts, you'll know I'm not too fond of the organic industry, but this is one practice that I believe should be used by all organic farmers.

Crop Rotation

Soil health is one of the most important aspects to organic food production. In monoculture operations, soil health can be very poor due to insect and disease pathogens incubating in the soil as part of their lifecycle and repeatedly re-infecting the crop. In order to avoid this problem and keep soil nutrients from being completely used up, crop rotation can be used. Crop rotation is the practice of growing a different crop on each section of a growing area each year in order to starve the pathogens of a host. This is a very valuable method to increase yields and prevent use of pesticides in low-spray operations.

It seems that the consensus is that a four year rotation protocol is the best method to follow. This four year cycle consists of consecutive plantings of (1) plants with high nitrogen requirements such as fruiting plants including tomatoes and squashes , (2) brassicas which require rich soil, (3) plants with light nutrient requirements such as carrots and onions, and (4) legumes which fix nitrogen in the soil. Manure or compost are then added and the cycle is repeated. This can also be seen as “fruit crop, leaf crop, root crop, legume”. This is a general rule of thumb which will allow you to get the most out of your soil.

When crop rotation is used, it reduces the prevalence of pests and disease. Many of these pathogens live in the soil and are specific to a host crop or family of crops. By changing the crop planted on each plot of land every year, the pathogens present in the soil are starved of a host. For example, corn rootworm requires corn as a host. If corn is grown one year in an area, corn rootworm may be present in the soil. If no corn is planted there in subsequent years, the corn rootworm will not become a problem due to the fact that it has no host to inoculate. This drops pest and disease numbers to a manageable level and reduces the number of pesticide sprays needed.

Crop rotation also creates a healthier soil than conventional farming practices. The nutrients in the soil are replenished often by adding more organic matter. This encourages a healthy biological presence in the soil as well as creating a fertile, rich soil. In addition, by using these practices, synthetic fertilizer use can be reduced. Planting vegetables with high nutrient needs first and working down to the plants with the lowest nutrient requirements allows the farmer to only add organic matter once every four years. This can also save money for the farmer if they do not produce their own compost.

In monoculture operations, farming one crop can be risky, because if a disease breaks out with that specific commodity, you will lose your whole crop. This is avoided with crop rotation by growing many different products, so that if one fails, the others can still bring in a fairly secure profit. This also provides some security against poor weather conditions. If the weather is too cool for tomatoes, it might be just perfect for leafy greens such as lettuce and kale. Additionally, having multiple crops will allow the farmer to bring multiple products to market throughout the year, extending the season during which their crops are bringing in a profit.

In conclusion, crop rotation should be used in all organic farming operations. Organic monoculture would not be profitable due to such high occurrences of pests and disease, as well as necessity to fertilize and amend the soil every growing season. Crop rotation increases soil health, reduces pest and disease problems, and reduces fertilizer needs. Healthier soil will ultimately produce a healthier crop with higher yield. If planned properly and mapped out, a crop rotation protocol is a worthwhile part of any organic farming business plan.

Sources Cited

Crop Rotation. N.p.: Integrated Water Resources Management, n.d. PDF.

"Healthy Farm Practices: Crop Rotation and Diversity." Union of Concerned Scientists. Union of Concerned Scientists, n.d. Web.

Reza, Shamim. "Crop Rotation - A Vital Component of Organic Farming." Www,permaculturenews.org. The Permaculture Research Institute, 15 June 2016. Web.