1) Increased soil fertility: Crop rotation helps to preserve and enhance soil fertility by alternating crops with different nutrient needs and growth characteristics. For example, legume crops like beans and peas fix nitrogen in the soil, which enriches it for future crops. This practice helps to maintain a healthy soil structure, enhances nutrient availability, and reduces the need for synthetic fertilizers.
2) Pest and disease control: Crop rotation disrupts the life cycles of pests and pathogens, helping to reduce their population and the risk of infestations. By planting different crops in a rotation, farmers can avoid the buildup of specific pests or diseases that are specific to certain crops. This reduces the reliance on chemical pesticides and promotes natural pest control methods, leading to healthier and more resilient crops.
3) Weed suppression: Crop rotation can also help in suppressing weeds. Planting crops with different growth habits and canopy structures can outcompete and reduce the growth of weeds. By minimizing weed pressure, farmers reduce the need for herbicides and manual weeding, resulting in cost savings and healthier crops.
Overall, crop rotation is a sustainable and effective farming practice that promotes soil health, natural pest control, and weed suppression. It offers multiple long-term benefits to farmers, including higher crop yields, reduced input costs, and improved agricultural sustainability.
States three advantages of practising crop rotation by farmers
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