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Cropping Systems

This document discusses various cropping systems used in farming. It describes plantation systems which involve large acreages of a single crop with many employees. Mixed farming and intercropping systems are more sustainable as they make use of crops and livestock together and reduce risks of failure. Crop rotation, cover cropping and contour cropping help conserve soils and maintain soil fertility. The systems aim to efficiently use resources and increase productivity to meet growing food demands.

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939 views33 pages

Cropping Systems

This document discusses various cropping systems used in farming. It describes plantation systems which involve large acreages of a single crop with many employees. Mixed farming and intercropping systems are more sustainable as they make use of crops and livestock together and reduce risks of failure. Crop rotation, cover cropping and contour cropping help conserve soils and maintain soil fertility. The systems aim to efficiently use resources and increase productivity to meet growing food demands.

Uploaded by

api-262572717
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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CROPPING SYSTEMS

Farming is any deliberate attempt to produce


crops and livestock. A cropping system is a
way of growing crops
THE NEED for AN EFFICIENT
SYSTEM of FARMING
 People need food to live. Land space is
limited and population is growing.
 With time, standards of living rise. The
demand for luxuries increases. Production
by farmers has to increase so as to
increase income.
 In some countries, there are no or little
natural deposits. To get money to pay for
goods and services, farmers must increase
productivity.
 Farming generates employment.
 An efficient system of farming makes
economic use of resources.
N S
TI O
N TA
P L A
H E
T TEM
YS
Some major features of the plantation
system:
 The system involves a large acreage
cultivated with one main crop.
 There are several employees, many
technically trained.
 It is highly mechanised.
.
A PINEAPPLE PLANTATION
I N G
PP
R O
O C
ON
M
Some major features of mono-
cropping:
 This system involves the growing of one
type of annual crop, harvesting it and
planting another on the same piece of
land.
 Mono-cropping is very risky. Farmers are
exposed to the danger of poor harvest due
to pest and diseases or climatic conditions.
RE
LT U
C U
N O
M O
Some major features of monoculture:

 This system involves the growing of the


same crop on the same piece of land year
round.
 The same nutrients are used up, leading to
soil exhaustion.
 It exposes the farmer to risk such as
inadequate income from a low price or a
drop in price of the particular crop grown;
a crop failure means a complete loss for
the farm and farmer.
 It encourages specialisation.
I N G
R M
FA
ED
MI X
Some major features of mixed
farming:
 The system involves Disadvantages:
the rearing of
livestock and planting
 A higher level of
of crops. management is
required.
 Land is used more
efficiently and reduces
 A labour force needs
the risk of failure. to be trained.
 Excess from the
 There is need to find
garden is fed to the markets for different
animals. produce.
 Excreta and litter
 Animals can damage
(manure) from the crops if they are not
pens are used in the properly enclosed or
garden. tethered.
T E D
RA
T EG N G
IN RM I
FA
 Integrated farming is the practice of
growing crops and raising livestock
simultaneously. Integrated farming is
diversification at its best
 Examples of integrated farming include;
using pigs to clear fields of rocks and roots
prior to planting a crop. Poultry is used to
clean up rotten fruit and weeds found in
orchards and vineyards at the end of the
season as well as add fertilizer to the soil.
Cattle grazing on cover crops grown in
between other crops keep the land
fertilized as well as manicured.
C E
T E N
SI S G
B I N
SU ARM
F
Some features of subsistence
farming:
 Earnings are supplemented from other
jobs.
 It assists with family food requirements.
Some Major Features Of Shifting
Cultivation:
 The land is cleared (usually by burning)
and planted.
 The farmer relies on natural fertility.
 Simple tools are used.
 The land is abandoned to grow into
secondary forest and the farmer moves on
I NG
PP
RO
D C
IX E
M
Some major features of mixed
cropping:
 This system involves the cultivation of
more than one type of crop on a piece of
land at the same time, e.g., corn and yam.
 It makes efficient use of soil resources.
 Mechanisation may not be possible.
IO N
TAT
RO
O P
C R
This is a system whereby the ground is kept under cultivation in such
way that the crops follow in a definite order or cycle.

 Some crops use a fair quantity of nutrients, .e.g.,


yams, maize, and cassava; while some use less, .e.g.,
tomatoes, pumpkin.
 Other adds nutrients, .e.g., legumes, and grasses.
 Crops have different root lengths- shallow rooted and
deep rooted.
 These variables are made use of in a crop rotation
system.
Benefits of Crop Rotation

Crop rotation improves


soil fertility.
It controls pests and
diseases.
It controls weeds.
Labour is occupied
throughout the year.
Income is maintained
throughout the year.
IN G
N T
P L A
T ER G
IN & PIN
OP
C R
T E R
IN
INTERPLANTING INTERCROPPING
 Interplanting is the  Intercropping is the
growing of a major planting of quick
crop in between growing and quick
planting of another maturing crops
major crop, e.g., between slow growing
cassava and corn. and slow maturing
crops, e.g., melon and
yam
INTERPLANTING INTERCROPPING
S ED
H A NG
P P I
O P
CR
This is a system of continuous cropping
and harvesting. A plot of land is divided
into 4 sections. The planting dates are
sequenced so that there is continuous
cropping and harvesting of produce. This
allows the farmer to maintain a regular
supply of produce without causing a glut
on the market.
IN G
P P
R O R
P C O U
T RI NT
S C O IN G
& OPP
C R
Both of these systems are used on sloping land.

Strip cropping refers to planting crops in strips of


varying widths. It is normally used as a soil
conservation measure.

Contour cropping
. Is another soil conservation measure. The land is
ploughed along the contours and then the crops
are planted
IN G
PP
RO
R C
VE
CO
This involves planting a crop that grows
rapidly and provides cover on bare soil. It is
usually planted after the main crop has been
harvested and can be ploughed into the soil
as green manure before replanting

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