Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.

| Domain | Definition |
Agriculture | The growing of different crops, in recurring succession, on the same land in contrast to monoculture cropping. Rotation usually is done to replenish soil fertility and to reduce pest populations in order to increase the potential for high levels of production in future years. (references) |
Environment | Planting a succession of different crops on the same land rea as opposed to planting the same crop time after time. (references) |
Food & Agriculture | A method of protecting the soil and replenishing its nutrition by planting a succession of different crops on the same land. It not only conserves fertility, but also provides a succession of different environments so that no single weed species is favoured repeatedly. Source: European Union. (references) |
Weather | Planting the same field or areas of fields with different crops from year to year to reduce depletion of soil nutrients. A plant such as corn, tobacco, or cotton, which remove large amounts of nitrogen from the soil, is planted one year. The next year a legume such as soybeans, which add nitrogen to the soil, is planted. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Legumes, plants of the family Fabaceae, for instance, have nodules on their roots which contain nitrogen-fixing bacteria. It therefore makes good sense agriculturally to alternate them with cereals (family Poaceae) and other plants that need nitrogen. A common modern crop rotation is alternating soybeans and maize (corn). In subsistence farming, it also makes good nutritional sense to grow beans and grain at the same time in different fields.
Some plants follow one another favorably and others do not which brings risks of yield losses, development of diseases and weeds.
The choice of the rotation depends on the nature of the soil, which determines the species of plants that one can cultivate, but also on animal breeding, which plays a role in the choice of the rotation (fodder crops, straw). Finally a good rotation takes into account the proportion of natural meadows.
The choice of the rotation is also determined by the economical aspects (local needs, market accessibility).
Crop rotation was already mentioned in the Roman literature, and referred to by great civilizations in Africa and Asia. From the end of the Middle Ages until the 20th century, the three-year rotation was practised by farmers in Europe with a rotation: rye or winter wheat, followed by spring oats or barley, then letting the soil rest (fallow) during the third stage. The fact that suitable rotations made it possible to restore or to maintain a productive soil has long been recognised.
A Four field rotation was pioneered by the Dutch and popularised by the British agriculturalist Charles Townshend in the 18th century. The system (wheat, barley, turnips and clover), opened up a fodder crop and grazing crop allowing livestock to be bred year-round. The four field rotation was a key development in the agricultural revolution.
Crop rotation was pioneered in the USA by George Washington Carver, not only through laboratory work, but through practical promotion and education.
In the Green revolution, the practice of crop rotation gave way in some parts of the world to that of simply adding the necessary chemical inputs to the depleted soil, e.g. replacing nitrogen with ammonium nitrate and restoring soil pH with lime.
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Crop rotation."
Synonyms: CROP ROTATIONSynonyms: Break crops, Rotation of crops. (additional references) |
Crosswords: CROP ROTATION |
| Specialty definitions using "CROP ROTATION": Alternative agriculture ♦ cultural control ♦ FIELD CONTRACTOR ♦ plowable pasture ♦ rotation pasture ♦ SOIL CONSERVATIONIST, SOIL SCIENTIST ♦ temporary grassland. (references) |
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | ![]() | Crop rotation pays. Credit: Library of Congress. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Economic History | Uzbekistan | Agriculture in Uzbekistan also suffers from inadequate water supply and a deteriorating irrigation network, soil depletion and salinization, no crop rotation, and lack of fertilizer, pesticides, and other inputs. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day |
crop rotation | 24 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Language | Translations for "CROP ROTATION"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Danish | vekseldrift (alternation of crops, blocking, fields, rotation), sædskifte (alternation of crops, blocking, fields, rotation), markinddeling (alternation of crops, blocking, fields, rotation), marker (alternation of crops, blocking, fields, rotation), agre (alternation of crops, blocking, fields, rotation), afgroedeveksling (alternation of crops, blocking, fields, rotation). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dutch | wisselbouw (alternation of crops, blocking, fallow husbandry, fields, rotation), vruchtwisselingstelsel (alternation of crops, blocking, fields, rotation), vruchtwisseling (alternation of crops, blocking, fields, rotation), vruchtrotatie (rotation), vruchtopvolging (alternation of crops, blocking, fields, rotation), vruchtomloop (rotation), rotatie (rotation), gewasrotatie (alternation of crops, blocking, fields, rotation), akkerbouwstelsel (alternation of crops, blocking, fields, rotation). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Finnish | kasvinvuorotus (alternation of crops, blocking, fields, rotation). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
French | rotation des cultures. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
German | Fruchtwechsel (alternation of crops, blocking, fields, rotation), Fruchtfolge (alternation of crops, blocking, fields, rotation), Feldeinteilung (alternation of crops, blocking, fields, rotation). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Greek | εναλλαγή καλλιεργειών (rotation), αμειψισπορά (alternation of crops, blocking, fields, rotation), διαδοχή καλλιεργειών (rotation). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hungarian | vetésforgó (course, shift of crops). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Italian | terreno avvicendato (alternation of crops, blocking, fields, rotation), rotazione delle colture (alternation of crops, blocking, fields, rotation), rotazione agraria (alternation of crops, blocking, fields, rotation), rotazione (alternation, gyration, revolution, rotation, spin, turnover), avvicendamenti (alternation of crops, blocking, fields, rotation). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pig Latin | opcray otationray rotação das culturas (rotation), rotação (circuit, rev, revolution, rolling, rotation, spin, turn, twirl, wind), poisio (alternation of crops, blocking, fallowing, fields, rotation), parcelas (alternation of crops, blocking, fields, rotation), afolhamento (alternation of crops, blocking, fields, rotation). (various references) севооборот. (various references) plodored. (various references) cultivo alternativo (alternation of crops, blocking, fields, rotation), terreno parcelado (alternation of crops, blocking, fields, rotation), rotación de cultivos (shift of crops), rotación (revolution, rotation, spinning, whirl), aparcelamiento de la finca (alternation of crops, blocking, fields, rotation), alternativa de cultivos (alternation of crops, blocking, fields, rotation), alternancia de cultivos (alternation of crops, blocking, fields, rotation). (various references) växelbruk (alternation of crops, blocking, fields, rotation). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "a-c-i-n-o-o-o-p-r-r-t-t" | |
-1 letter: corporation, protraction. | |
-2 letters: corotation. | |
-3 letters: carrottop, proration. | |
-4 letters: carrotin, cooption, copatron, nitrator, oratorio, picaroon, portrait, potation, pronator, protatic, protonic, protract, rotation, traction. | |
-5 letters: airport, antipot, apricot, aprotic, arnotto, atropin, cantrip, caption, carotin, carport, carrion, cartoon, citator, contort, coranto, corpora, oration, paction, parotic, patriot, patroon, porcino, portico, portion, proctor, pronota, rattoon, ricotta, rotator, taction, tantric, taproot. | |
| Words containing the letters "a-c-i-n-o-o-o-p-r-r-t-t" | |
+2 letters: prognosticator. | |
+3 letters: prognosticators, radioprotection. | |
+4 letters: radioprotections. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Synonyms 2. Crosswords 3. Images: Photo Album 4. Quotations: Non-fiction | 5. Expressions: Internet 6. Translations: Modern 7. Anagrams 8. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.