Cropping systems

Question 1

advantages monoculture crops

Answer 1

 Modern agriculture has developed technologies based on
monoculture.
 Highly productive.
 Diversity can be introduced through rotation.
 Easier to manage one species than two.

Question 2

disadvantages monoculture crops

Answer 2

 The production system is susceptible to disease and pests.
 Can cause epidemics.
 More impact of adverse weather.
 Fewer natural pest enemies
 Crop are less capable of compensation.

Question 3

Crop rotation is also called sequence cropping.

Answer 3

 The success of crop rotation depends on:
 The number and choice of rotation crops.
 The order of crop rotation

Question 4

Advantages of crop rotation include:

Answer 4

 Break disease cycles caused by growing the same crop year after
year.
 Diversify farm produce.
 To reduce adverse environmental effects.

Question 5

Describe the different types of polyculture crops.

Answer 5

mixtures
intercropping
strip cropping
overlap planting
nursery crop

Question 6

Mixtures.

Answer 6

Include multilines, legume-cereal mixes, and forages.

Question 7

Intercropping.

Answer 7

Where different crops are planted, one row of one, the next

row of another. Complimentary association.

Question 8

Strip cropping.

Answer 8

Usually associated with erosion control in contour stripping.

Question 9

Overlap planting.

Answer 9

Where two or more species overlap for part of their life cycle.

Question 10

Nursery crop.

Answer 10

Grown to protect a slow establishment crop than later sprayed out

Question 11

What are the goals of organic food production?

Answer 11

o Produce food of high nutritional value
o Use renewable resources in locally organized systems
o Consider the wider social and ecological impacts of the farming system.
o To make loads of money.

Question 12

How do organic farmers cycle nitrogen into their cropping systems?

Answer 12

o Cover crops are used to improve soil fertility and protect against erosion.
o Green manures are plowed down into the soil while still green.
o Fallow is where no crop is grown

Question 13

What practices do organic farmers use for weed control?

Answer 13

o Cover crops control weeds, protect soil, and improve soil organic matter.
o Cultivation.
o Mulching to suppress weeds.
o Crop rotation – to break weed cycles.
o Husbandry - increase seeding density, increased seedling density more
competitive.
o Transplant rather than seeding.
o Biological weed control (Brassica seed meal).
o Hand weeding.