Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2brh9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-28T10:58:16.432Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Crop rotation efficiencies and biological diversity in farming systems

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 October 2009

David F. Bezdicek  and
David Granatstein
David F. Bezdicek
Affiliation:
Research Associate, Department of Agronomy and Soils, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164-6420.
David Granatstein
Affiliation:
Research Associate, Department of Agronomy and Soils, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164-6420.
Get access

Abstract

The positive role of biological diversity in enhancing agricultural sustainability is presented in the context of crop rotation. Once common in virtually all farming systems, crop rotations have been simplified or eliminated during the past two decades from farming systems in most industrialized countries. Specialization, production intensification, government commodity programs, and the resulting short-term economic decisions have all had an influence in reducing crop rotation and diversity. Economic and environmental concerns have raised the question of agricultural sustainability in the public arena. We discuss here the role of diversity and crop rotation in relation to the sustainability issue, including matters of agronomic, economic, and environmental benefits, as well as increased efficiency in the use of fossil fuels. Constraints and future directions in the use of crop rotation in modern agriculture are described.

Keywords

monoculturegenetic uniformityplant epidemicsgenetic engineeringtransgenic plantsproduction inputssustainability
Type
Articles
Information
American Journal of Alternative Agriculture , Volume 4 , Issue 3-4 , December 1989 , pp. 111 - 119
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1989

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1.American Council on Science and Health. 1986. Does nature know best? Natural carcinogens in American food. The American Council on Science and Health, Summit, New Jersey. 39 pp.Google Scholar
2.Baker, K. R., and Cook, R. J.. 1974. Biological control of plant pathogens. W. H. Freeman Company, San Francisco, California.Google Scholar
3.Baldock, J. O., Higgs, R. L., Paulson, W. H., Jackobs, J. A., and Shrader, W. D.. 1981. Legume and mineral N effects on crop yields in several crop sequences in the upper Mississippi Valley. Agronomy Journal 73:885–890.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
4.Berry, Wendell. 1981. The gift of good land. North Point Press, San Francisco, California.Google Scholar
5.Bezdicek, D. F., Evans, D. W., Abebe, B., and Witters, R. W.. 1978. Evaluation of peat and granular inoculum for soybean yield and N fixation under irrigation. Agronomy Journal 70:865–868.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
6.Boawn, L. C., Nelson, J. L., and Crawford, C. L.. 1963. Residual nitrogen from NH4NO3 fertilizer and from alfalfa plowed under. Agronomy Journal 55:231–235.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
7.Cook, R. J. 1984. Root health: importance and relationship to farming practices. In Bezdicek, D. F., Power, J. F., Keeney, D. R., and Wright, M. J. (eds.). Organic farming: Current Technology and its Role in a Sustainable Agriculture. American Society of Agronomy Special Publication 46, Madison, Wisconsin, pp. 111–127.Google Scholar
8.Cook, R. J. 1988. Biological control and holistic plant-health care in agriculture. American Journal of Alternative Agriculture 3:51–62.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
9.Cook, R. J., and Baker, K. F.. 1983. The nature and practice of biological control of plant pathogens. American Phytopathological Society, St. Paul, Minnesota.Google Scholar
10.Cook, R. J., Sitton, J. W., and Haglund, W. A.. 1987. Influence of soil treatments on growth and yield of wheat and implications for control of pythium root rot. Phytopathology 77:1192–1198.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
11.Doyarenko, A. G. 1924. Soil structure studied as a ratio between noncapillary and capillary porosity. Nauchno-Agronomicheskii Zhurnal, Nos. 7–8.Google Scholar
12.Duvick, D. N. 1986. Plant breeding: past achievements and expectations for the future. Economic Botany 40:289–297.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
13.Eaglesham, A. R. J. 1982. Assessing the nitrogen contribution of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) in monoculture and intercropped. In P. H. Graham and S. C. Harris (eds.). Biological Nitrogen Fixation Technology for Tropical Agriculture. Papers presented at a workshop held at CIAT, March 9–13. Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical, Cali, Colombia, pp. 641–646.Google Scholar
14.Fehr, W. R. (ed.). 1984. Genetic contributions to yield gains of five major crop plants. Crop Science Society of America Special Publication No. 7, Madison, Wisconsin.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
15.Follett, R. F., Gupta, S. C., and Hunt, P. G.. 1987. Conservation practices: relation to the management of plant nutrients for crop production. In Follett, R. F., Stewart, J. W. B., and Cole, C. V. (eds.). Soil Fertility and Organic Matter as Critical Components of Production. American Society of Agronomy Special Publication 19, Madison, Wisconsin, pp. 19–51.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
16.Francis, C. A. 1986. Dynamic integration of research and extension: igniting the SPARC. Seminar presented to Farming Systems Research and Extension Workshop, Manhattan, Kansas, October 5–8. 8 pp.Google Scholar
17.Fry, W. W., Blevins, R. L., Smith, M. S., and Corak, S. J.. 1988. Role of annual legume cover crops in efficient use of water and nitrogen. In W. L. Hargrove (ed.). Cropping Strategies for Efficient Use of Water and Nitrogen. American Society of Agronomy Special Publication 51, Madison, Wisconsin, pp. 129–154.Google Scholar
18.Goldstein, W. 1989. Thoughts on droughtproofing your farm: a biodynamic approach. Working Paper No. 2, Michael Fields Agricultural Institute, East Troy, Wisconsin.Google Scholar
19.Goldstein, W. A., and Young, D. L.. 1987. An agronomic and economic comparison of a conventional and low-input system in the Palouse. American Journal of Alternative Agriculture 2:51–56.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
20.Goodman, R. M., Hauptli, H., Cressway, A., and Knauf, V. C.. 1987. Gene transfer in crop improvement. Science 236:48–54.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
21.Gould, F. 1988. Evolutionary biology and genetically engineered crops. BioScience 38:26–33.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
22.Granatstein, D. 1988. Constraints to change: assessing the dilemma. Journal of Freshwater 11:12. Freshwater Foundation, Navarre, Minnesota.Google Scholar
23.Granatstein, D., and Goldstein, W.. 1988. Farmer-based programs for developing sustainable agriculture in the Upper Midwest. Agronomy Abstracts. American Society of Agronomy, Madison, Wisconsin, p. 31.Google Scholar
24.Ham, G. E. 1978. Use of 15N in evaluating symbiotic N2 fixation of field-grown soybeans. In Isotopes in Biological Dinitrogen Fixation. IAEA, Vienna, Austria, pp. 151–162.Google Scholar
25.Harris, G. H., and Hesterman, O. B.. 1987. Recovery of nitrogen-15 from labeled alfalfa residue by a subsequent corn crop. In J. F. Power (ed.). The Role of Legumes in Conservation Tillage Systems. Soil and Water Conservation Society of America, pp. 58–59.Google Scholar
26.Heichel, G. H. 1985. Nitrogen recovery by crops that follow legumes. In Barnes, R. F. et al. (eds.). Forage Legumes for Energy Efficient Animal Production. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Washington, DC. pp. 183–189.Google Scholar
27.Heichel, G. H., and Barnes, D. K.. 1984. Opportunities for meeting crop nitrogen needs from symbiotic nitrogen fixation. In Bezdicek, D. F., Power, J. F., Keeney, D. R., and Wright, M. J. (eds.). Organic Farming: Current Technology and Its Role in a Sustainable Agriculture. American Society of Agronomy Special Publication 46, Madison, Wisconsin, pp. 49–59.Google Scholar
28.Hesterman, O. B. 1988. Exploiting forage legumes for nitrogen contribution in cropping systems. In W. L. Hargrove (ed.). Cropping Strategies for Efficient Use of Water and Nitrogen. American Society of Agronomy Special Publication 51, Madison, Wisconsin, pp. 155–156.Google Scholar
29.Hesterman, O. B., Russelle, M. B., Scheaffer, C. C., and Heichel, G. H.. 1987. Nitrogen utilization from fertilizer and legume residues in legume-corn rotations. Agronomy Journal 79:726–731.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
30.SirHoward, Albert. 1956. The soil and health. Devin-Adair, New York.Google Scholar
31.Huang, F. Z. 1979. Effect of earthworms on soil structure. Acta Pedologica Sinica. 16:211–217. (English Summary).Google Scholar
32.Hunt, P. G., Matheny, T. A., and Wollum, A. G. II., 1985. Rhizobium japonicum nodular occupancy, nitrogen accumulation, and yield for determinate soybean under conservation and conventional tillage. Agronomy Journal 77:579–584.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
33.Kirschenmann, F. 1988. Switching to a sustainable system. NPSAS, Windsor, North Dakota.Google Scholar
34.Kirschenmann, F. 1989. Low-input farming in practice: Putting a system together and making it work. American Journal of Alternative Agriculture. 4:106–110.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
35.Kramer, J., and Weaver, J. E.. 1936. Relative efficiency of roots and tops of plants in protecting the soil from erosion. Univ. Nebraska, Dept. Conservation. Bull. 12.Google Scholar
36.Kunishi, H. M. 1989. Microbe enhanced P uptake by corn under no-till and conventional till. In Proceedings of Beltsville Symposium XIV - The Rhizosphere and Plant Growth, Beltsville, Maryland, p. 58.Google Scholar
37.Ladd, J. N., and Amato, M.. 1986. The fate of nitrogen from legume and fertilizer sources in soil successively cropped with wheat under flood conditions. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 18:417–425.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
38.Lindow, S. E., Knudsen, G. R., Seidler, R. J., Walter, M. V., Lambou, V. W., Amy, P. S., Schmedding, D., Prince, V., and Hern, S.. 1988. Aerial dispersal and ediphytic survival of Pseudomonas syringae during a pretest for the release of genetically engineered strains into the environment. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 54:1557–1563.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
39.Lynch, J. M., and Bragg, E.. 1985. Microorganisms and soil aggregate stability. Advances in Soil Science 2:133–177.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
40.Mazurak, A. P., and Ramig, R. E.. 1963. Residual effects of perennial grass sod on the physical properties of a chernozem soil. Soil Science Society of America Proceedings 27:592–595.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
41.Meisinger, J. J. 1984. Evaluating plant-available nitrogen in soil-crop systems. In R. D. Hauck (ed.). Nitrogen in Crop Production. American Society of Agronomy, Madison, Wisconsin, pp. 391–416.Google Scholar
42.Mends, C., Dobbs, T. L., and Smolik, J. D.. 1989. Economic results of alternative farming systems trials at SDSU Northeast Research Station: 1985–1988. Research Report 89–3. Dept. of Economics, South Dakota State University, Brookings, South Dakota.Google Scholar
43.National Research Council. 1972. Genetic vulnerability of major farm crops. National Academy Press, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
44.National Research Council. 1989. Alternative Agriculture. National Academy Press, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
45.Oades, J. M. 1984. Soil organic matter and structural stability: mechanisms and implications for management. Plant and Soil 76:319–337.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
46.Olkowski, W. 1986. Integrated pest management for corn rootworms and cucumber beetles. IPM Practitioner 8:1–8.Google Scholar
47.Pierce, F. J., and Rice, C. W.. 1988. Crop rotation and its impact on efficiency of water and nitrogen. In W. L. Hargrove (ed.). Cropping Strategies for Efficient Use of Water and Nitrogen. American Society of Agronomy Special Publication 51, Madison, Wisconsin, pp. 21–42.Google Scholar
48.Randall, G. W. 1988. Nitrogen management in conservation tillage systems. In Workshop on Conservation Tillage in Wet Soil. Proceedings (meeting of Iowa and Minnesota chapters, Soil and Water Conservation Society, Clear Lake, Iowa). February 18–19. pp. 86–92.Google Scholar
49.Rasmussen, P. E., Collins, H. P., and Smiley, R. W.. 1989. Long-term management effects on soil productivity and crop yield in semiarid regions of eastern Oregon. Station Bulletin 675, USDA-ARS and Oregon State University, Columbia Basin Agricultural Research Center, Pendleton, Oregon.Google Scholar
50.Rodale, R. 1988. What we can learn from Soviet agriculture. The New Farm. Nov.- Dec.:34–39.Google Scholar
51.Rovira, A. D. 1976. Studies on soil fumigation. I. Effects of ammonium, nitrate, and phosphorus in soil and on the growth, nutrition, and yield of wheat. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 8:241–247.Google Scholar
52.Russell, J. S., and Williams, C. H.. 1982. Biogeochemical interactions of carbon, nitrogen, sulfur, and phosphorus in Australian agroecosystems. In Freney, J. R. and Galbally, I. E. (eds.). Cycling of C, N, S, and P in Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecosystems. Springer-Verlag, New York, New York. pp. 61–75.Google Scholar
53.Schell, J., Gronenborn, B., and Fraley, R. T.. 1989. Improving crop plants by the introduction of isolated genes. In Marx, J. E. (ed.). A Revolution in Biotechnology. Cambridge University Press, pp. 130–144.Google Scholar
54.Schupan, W. 1974. Nutritional value of crops as influenced by organic and inorganic fertilizer treatments - results of 12 years' experiments with vegetables. Qual. Plant 23:333–358.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
55.SCS. 1974. Soil conditioning rating indices for major irrigated and non-irrigated crops grown in the western United States. Western Region, Portland, Oregon. Conservation Agronomy Technical Note No. 17, April.Google Scholar
56.Smith, G. E. 1942. Sanborn field: fifty years of field experiments with crop rotations, manure, and fertilizers. Missouri Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 458. 61 pp.Google Scholar
57.Smith, J. S. C. 1988. Diversity of United States hybrid maize germplasm; isozymic and chromatographic evidence. Crop Science 28:63–69.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
58.SSSA. 1984. Glossary of scientific terms. Soil Science Society of America, Madison, Wisconsin.Google Scholar
59.Stanford, G. 1973. Rationale for optimum nitrogen fertilization in corn production. Journal of Environmental Quality 2:159–166.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
60.Stevenson, F. J. 1982. Origin and distribution of nitrogen in soil. In Stevenson, F. J. (ed.). Nitrogen in Agricultural Soils. American Society of Agronomy, Madison, Wisconsin, pp. 1–42.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
61.Strange, M. 1988. Family farming: a new economic vision. University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, Nebraska.Google Scholar
62.Thurlow, D. L., and Hiltbold, A. E.. 1985. Dinitrogen fixation by soybean in Alabama. Agronomy Journal 77:432–436.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
63.Tiedje, J. M., Colwell, R. K., Grossman, Y. L., Hodson, R. E., Lenski, R. E., Mack, R. N., and Regal, P. J.. 1989. The planned introduction of genetically engineered organisms: Ecological considerations and recommendations. Ecology 70:298–311.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
64.Trent, J. D., Svejcar, T. J., and Christiansen, S.. 1989. Effect of growth, photosynthesis, water relations, and mycorrhizal development of winter wheat in the field. Canadian Journal of Plant Science 69:535–540.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
65.Voss, R. D., and Schrader, W. D.. 1979. Crop rotations: effects on yields and response to nitrogen. Iowa State Univ., Coop. Ext. Service PM 905. 5 pp.Google Scholar
66.Wilson, E. O. 1988. The current state of biological diversity. In Wilson, E. O. (ed.). Biodiversity. National Academy Press, Washington, DC. pp. 3–18.Google Scholar
67.Witt, S. C. 1982. Genetic engineering of plants. California Agricultural Lands Project, San Francisco, California.Google Scholar