What is monocrop agriculture

In agriculture, monocropping is the practice of growing a single crop year after year on the same land. Maize, soybeans, and wheat are three common crops often monocropped. Monocropping

is also referred to as continuous cropping, as in “continuous corn.”

Full
Answer

What is the difference between monocropping and monoculture?

What are the advantages of monoculture farming?

• Allows Specialized Production.
• Promotes Technological Advances In Agriculture.
• Boosts Performance.
• Maximizes Yields Of Some Produce.
• Is Simpler To Manage.
• Deals Greater Profits.
• Develops Pesticide Resistance.
• Degrades Soils.

Why are monocultures bad?

With the increasing evidence of pollution caused by modern agriculture, decreasing soil fertility and spread of pests, monoculture farming gets a lot of bad rap. Single crop farming is blamed for destroying natural defenses of lands, thus negatively affecting resilience of ecosystems.

What is an advantage of monocropping?

What are the advantages and disadvantages of monocropping?

• The crop is the same over the whole farm, therefore farming-managemnt decisions are simplified.
• Only the machinery necessary to maintain the crop needs to be bought.
• The seasonal work is predictable allowing scheduling of casual labour (e.g., harvesting) and contract machinery.
• Maximises the financial return and minimises costs.

How does monocropping increase pest issues?

What are the advantages of monoculture farming?

• Specialized production.
• Technological advances.
• High efficiency.
• Greater yields of some produce.
• Simpler to manage.
• Higher earnings.
• Pest problems.
• Pesticide resistance.

Why do farmers monocrop?

The method of monocropping allows for farmers to have consistent crops throughout their entire farm. Then the farmers plant their most profitable crop only, using the same seed, pest control, machinery, and growing method on their entire farm, which may increase overall farm profitability.

What is a monocrop farm?

Mono-crop farming is the practice of growing large amounts of one crop on the land.

What is monoculture and why is it bad?

Soil Degradation And Fertility Loss Agricultural monoculture upsets the natural balance of soils. Too many of the same plant species in one field area rob the soil of its nutrients, resulting in decreasing varieties of bacteria and microorganisms that are needed to maintain fertility of the soil.

Why is monocrop agriculture bad?

Monocropping is the practice of growing the same crop on the same plot of land, year after year. This practice depletes the soil of nutrients (making the soil less productive over time), reduces organic matter in soil and can cause significant erosion.

Why are monocultures important?

Benefits. In crop monocultures, each plant in a field has the same standardized planting, maintenance, and harvesting requirements resulting in greater yields and lower costs. When a crop is matched to its well-managed environment, a monoculture can produce higher yields than a polyculture.

What are the advantages of monocropping?

Advantages of mono-cropping farming systemIt makes possible the use of machines in farm operation.It leads higher productivity per hectare,It also leads to specialization among farmers.The control of weeds is easy. This is because herbicides can be used.

What does monocultural mean?

1a : the cultivation or growth of a single crop or organism especially on agricultural or forest land. b : a crop or a population of a single kind of organism grown on land in monoculture.

Why are monocultures bad for the environment?

Monocropping also creates the spread of pests and diseases, which must be treated with yet more chemicals. The effects of monocropping on the environment are severe when pesticides and fertilizers make their way into ground water or become airborne, creating pollution.

What are 5 issues with monoculture agriculture?

Monoculture farming, however, has some disadvantages you can’t ignore. The worlds long term food production comes at risk from high use of fertilizers, pests, loss of biodiversity, soil fertility and environmental pollution.

How do you stop Monocrops?

Rotation of crops is one method of avoiding some risk associated with monoculture. A year of corn production is followed by a year of soybeans, then corn, then soybeans, to avoid many disease and insect problems. This method works with many vegetables, annuals, and even some perenniels.Avoiding Monocultureshttp://hyg.ipm.illinois.edu › pastpesthttp://hyg.ipm.illinois.edu › pastpestSearch for: How do you stop Monocrops?

What are the benefits of regenerative agriculture?

Regenerative agriculture describes holistic farming systems that, among other benefits, improve water and air quality, enhance ecosystem biodiversity, produce nutrient-dense food, and store carbon to help mitigate the effects of climate change.Regenerative Agriculture – Chesapeake Bay Foundationhttps://www.cbf.org › issues › regenerative-agriculturehttps://www.cbf.org › issues › regenerative-agricultureSearch for: What are the benefits of regenerative agriculture?

What are the advantages and disadvantages of monocropping?

Advantages and Disadvantages of Monoculture FarmingSpecialized production.Technological advances.High efficiency.Greater yields of some produce.Simpler to manage.Higher earnings.Pest problems.Pesticide resistance.Pros and Cons of Monoculture Farming | Greentumblehttps://greentumble.com › advantages-and-disadvantages-…https://greentumble.com › advantages-and-disadvantages-…Search for: What are the advantages and disadvantages of monocropping?

What is the meaning of pastoral farming?

Pastoral farming (also known in some regions as ranching, livestock farming or grazing) is aimed at producing livestock, rather than growing crops. Examples include dairy farming, raising beef cattle, and raising sheep for wool.

What polyculture means?

Definition of polyculture : the usually simultaneous cultivation or growth of two or more compatible plants or organisms and especially crops or fish in a single area also : a product of such cultivation or growth.

What are the disadvantages of monocultures?

Destroys soil nutrients Monoculture eliminates all such functions due to the practice of only planting or rearing one type of crop or animal breed, respectively. As a result, there is no range of insect and soil microorganism species due to the lack of crop diversity that promotes insect and soil microbe biodiversity.

What is the disadvantages of mono cropping?

Monocropping also creates the spread of pests and diseases, which must be treated with yet more chemicals. The effects of monocropping on the environment are severe when pesticides and fertilizers make their way into ground water or become airborne, creating pollution.

What is monocropping in agriculture?

Monocropping is the agricultural practice of growing a single crop year after year on the same land, in the absence of rotation through other crops or growing multiple crops on the same land ( polyculture ). Maize, soybeans, and wheat are three common crops often grown using monocropping techniques.

Why is monocropping important?

Monocropping allows for farmers to have consistent crops throughout their entire farm. They can plant only the most profitable crop, use the same seed, pest control, machinery, and growing method on their entire farm, which may increase overall farm profitability.

How does monocropping affect soil?

Some legumes can also be used as cover crops or planted in fallow fields. In addition, monocropping encourages pesticide resistance and pest evolution and so rotating crops performs an important role in preventing pathogen and pest build-up . There are however a few diseases which are less severe in a monocropping system, like take-all in wheat, as the population of an organism which feeds on the disease causing pathogen grows over repeated years of the presence of the pathogen.

How does monocropping affect indigenous people?

Under certain circumstances monocropping can lead to deforestation or the displacement of indigenous peoples. For example, since 1970 the Amazon Rainforest has lost nearly one fifth of its forest cover. A main cause of this deforestation is local farmers clearing land for more crops. In Colombia, the need for more farming land is causing the displacement of large populations of peasants.

What are the problems with monocropping?

A difficulty with monocropping is that the solution to one problem—whether economic, environmental or political—may result in a cascade of other problems. For example, a well-known concern is pesticides and fertilizers seeping into surrounding soil and groundwater from extensive monocropped acreage in the U.S. and abroad. This issue, especially with respect to the pesticide DDT, played an important role in focusing public attention on ecology and pollution issues during the 1960s when Rachel Carson published her landmark book Silent Spring .

Is monocropping energy intensive?

However, monocropping itself is highly chemical- and energy-intensive. The hidden energy costs associated with producing each unit of bio-fuel are significantly larger than the amount of energy available from the fuel itself.

Is wheat monocropping a disease?

There are however a few diseases which are less severe in a monocropping system, like take-all in wheat, as the population of an organism which feeds on the disease causing pathogen grows over repeated years of the presence of the pathogen.

What is monoculture in agriculture?

Monocropping (or monoculture) is the planting of a single crop in the same patch of land year after year. For example, in 2020, two crops—corn (maize) and soybean—accounted for 70% of the planted farmland in the United States, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. 1

When did monocropping start?

Monocropping has its origins in the Green Revolution of the 1950s and 1960s, which (despite its name) introduced chemical fertilizers and pesticides, the development of new, high-yield cereal grains, and the growing use of large farm machinery such as tractors and irrigation systems.

How does monocropping affect biodiversity?

While the most biodiversity on the planet exists in the places with the highest levels of human diversity, monocropping reduces cultural diversity. 3 With its economy of scale, monocropping means fewer family farms and increasing financial burdens on those that remain, resulting in a loss of numerous local cultures worldwide. 4 That decline in diversity is accompanied by a loss of food diversity.

How do sustainable practices help soils?

By contrast, sustainable practices like regenerative agriculture and agroforestry allow soils to retain moisture, allow croplands to attract beneficial insects and birds that prey on harmful ones, reduce soil erosion, increase food sovereignty, improve diets and nutrition, 12 reduce reliance on expensive inputs, and allow farmers to stay on their land.

What was the Green Revolution?

The Green Revolution resulted in a reduction of labor costs, the doubling of grain yields, the more than doubling of the world’s population, and a Nobel Peace Prize for its main proponent, Norman Borlaug, for lifting millions of people out of poverty and creating food self-sufficiency for nations such as Mexico and India.

Why is crop diversity important?

Crop diversity is also a key strategy in adapting to climate change, as a wider variety of crops returns carbon to the soil 13 and increases the sustainability of the ecosystems we all depend on. 14

Is monocropping sustainable?

As a form of industrial agriculture, monocropping has some short-term benefits, but the downsides of monocropping make it far from sustainable.

How does monocropping affect the environment?

The effects of monocropping on the environment are severe when pesticides and fertilizers make their way into ground water or become airborne, creating pollution .

How can monoculture be avoided?

Monoculture problems can be avoided altogether if organic farming methods are employed . When diverse plant species are planted, crops are better able to withstand attacks from both insects and pests, thus eliminating the need for pesticides.

What are the benefits of organic farming?

Organic farmers focus on developing healthy, rich soil that provides all the nutrients that plants need to thrive and produce an abundant harvest. Organic farms also take advantage of animals such as cattle, pigs, and chickens to help keep the soil rich.

Why do farmers use chemical fertilizers?

Because soil structure and quality is so poor, farmers are forced to use chemical fertilizers to encourage plant growth and fruit production. These fertilizers, in turn, disrupt the natural makeup of the soil and contribute further to nutrient depletion.

Is monoculture bad for gardening?

Planting monoculture crops may seem an easy method of gardening but , in fact, the adverse effects of monocropping can lead to a number of issues down the road. Let’s learn more about these effects and the monoculture problems that may result.

Is monocropping more profitable than organic farming?

However, those against monocropping claim that it is very hard on the environment and actually less profitable than organic means of farming.

Why do farmers prefer multicropping?

However, farmers’ preference for multicrops are often unrelated to the possibility that they may provide greater combined yields per se than their constituent sole crops. Often, multicropping is chosen to reduce the risk of complete crop failure or to ensure a more stable range of yields in variable environments. The unreliability of annual crop yields increases with the inherent variability of the environment. Much of this annual variability is reduced when crops are grown together because environmental, pest, or disease pressures do not equally affect different species. Pest and disease effects on one species may be reduced because specialized pathogens may settle on nonhost component species of the multicrop. This “fly-paper effect” encourages overall stability by the additional compensatory growth of the resistant species in the space left by diseased individuals. For example, virus diseases may spread more rapidly through adjacent plants of the same species than when these plants are separated by dissimilar, nonsusceptible, plants of another species. Insect vectors are also discouraged from attacking plants that are intermingled with other species than when a single species is grown in a block.

What is intercropping in agriculture?

They referred to this as a canopy partitioning model based on how the different plants grew and intercepted light. Intercropping represents a planned arrangement of crops on the same land area during the same time period. Several studies have shown the advantage of intercropping systems ( Keating and Carberry, 1993; Ghaffarzadeh et al., 1994; Tournebize and Sinoquet, 1995; Lesoing and Francis, 1999; Baumann et al., 2002; Jurik and Van, 2004; Seran and Brintha, 2010; Verdelli et al., 2012; Mao et al., 2014; Munz et al., 2014; El-Shamy et al., 2015; Husse et al., 2016; Gou et al., 2017) because of the altered light regime of the canopy. The major factor affected by mixtures of plants is the pattern of PAR interception into the canopies. The advantage to productivity in intercropping is due to the mixture of canopy heights to allow light to penetrate into the canopy at the border rows. In addition, intercropping takes advantage of the vertical distribution of crops to use the incident radiation resource effectively. Ghaffarzadeh et al. (1994) found a yield advantage in strip intercropping of maize and soybean in Iowa over a monoculture as long as the width of strip was minimal to prevent excessive shading of the soybean. In many cases, it is the shaded understory crop, which produces lower yields than in a monocropping setting. For example, while maize production was equal or higher in intercropping systems with smaller crops such as soybean (Verdelli et al., 2012 ), maize yields decreased in silver maple–maize intercropping systems due to tree shading ( Miller and Pallardy, 2001 ). Yet, the combined yield of all crops is often higher than in monocropping, quantified as the land equivalent ratio (LER) ( Gao et al., 2010 ). The LER can be calculated as ( Mead and Willey, 1980)

Why is intercropping important?

The advantage to productivity in intercropping is due to the mixture of canopy heights to allow light to penetrate into the canopy at the border rows. In addition, intercropping takes advantage of the vertical distribution of crops to use the incident radiation resource effectively.

How does row width affect grain production?

Changing row width has positive impacts on grain production. In mung bean [ Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek], Rachaputi et al. (2015) found that narrow rows (30 or 50 cm) compared to wide rows (90 or 100 cm) produced more biomass and greater yield. They extended this analysis to show that for 123 years in Australia, mung bean planted in narrow rows could produce up to 30% more grain in 95% of the growing seasons. The advantage of row width across all crops is in the more rapid accumulation of leaf area with the interception of more PAR being converted into photosynthate. We can hypothetically describe the relationship between LAI and photosynthetic rate as rapidly increasing with increasing LAI and reaching a plateau with LAI values above 4. There are differences between C 4 and C 3 plants in this response in the magnitude of the photosynthetic rates but not the shape of the relationship.

Is multicropping more stable than monocropping?

In ecological terms, multicropping is often more stable than sole or monocropping, particularly where inputs such as fertilizers, pest and disease control, and irrigation are limited or unavailable. In many temperate, intensive systems, sole crops are grown so that external inputs can be timed to meet the needs of a particular species. In this way, maximum productivity can be achieved within the limits set by the cost-effectiveness of inputs, the genetic potential of the crop, and the physical potential of its environment. In such circumstances, multicrops are rare. In less intensive systems, there is more likelihood of encountering mixed cropping. Here, the lack of inputs, such as nutrients and water, means that resources must be sequestered from within the system itself and/or the spatial and temporal demand for the maximum yield of a particular species must be balanced against the optimal performance of the whole system. The prevalence of multicrops becomes greater as we move from relatively benign to more hostile environments and in many dry, tropical regions multicropping is often the dominant system of cultivation over large tracts of land.

Is rice cultivation sustainable?

In general, rice cultivation is sustainable even where rice is continuously grown in monocropping at high production levels. The quality of the soil resource base can be maintained through adequate management practices, including proper crop residue and water management, tillage operations, soil aeration during fallows, and balanced fertilization. The sustainability of rice cropping may be at risk, however, where management-induced changes strongly influence soil characteristics and the soil environment. This may include prolonged soil submergence in intensive systems with three rice crops per year as well as prolonged soil aeration because of crop diversification (Figure 1 ). In the following, we focus on selected issues that are of general importance for sustainable paddy soil management and the environmentally sound production of rice.

Can solar corridors be used as intercropping?

The solar corridor system can be used as an intercropping system, tested by Nelson (2014) using corn-wheat intercrops. Both wheat and corn were lower than in monocropping settings. Using Eq. (1.8), LER<1 was calculated with crop proportions of 0.27 for corn and 0.57 for wheat. These studies did not consider that the exchange of CO 2 caused by wind flow within canopies of varying shape and size could be beneficial in maintaining the [CO 2] at nonlimiting levels within the canopy volume ( Figs. 1.2 and 1.3 ).

What is monoculture in agriculture?

It should be noted that the concept of monoculture does not only apply to crops, but to farm animals as well: it consists in breeding only one species of animals on a given farm, be it dairy cows, sheep, pigs, chicken, etc.

What is monoculture farming?

Monoculture farming is a form of agriculture that is based on growing only one type of a crop at one time on a specific field. In contrast, a polyculture system assumes that a field is sown with two or more crops at a time. It should be noted that the concept of monoculture does not only apply to crops, but to farm animals as well: it consists in …

How do monoculture crops affect biodiversity?

Monoculture crops are more likely to be affected by blight or pests , as these threats can move faster through the area due to its reduced biodiversity. In response, farmers apply greater amounts of pesticides and herbicides to protect the crop. These chemicals seep into the ground, contaminating both the soil and the groundwater. Moreover, monoculture farms tend to intensify even more the use of pesticides, as some kinds of pests survive the use of chemicals by developing resistance to them. Later, these parasites pass this newly acquired immunity to their offspring which, in their turn, will proliferate on the given field plot even more, as their main source of food keeps staying in one place.

What are the new technologies used in agriculture?

One of the most innovative and comprehensive technologies in this matter are satellite tools that are used for a complex monitoring of specific fields and management of all the stages of sowing and growing crops on them. A bright example of such new technologies is the EOS Crop Monitoring software , which is a high-performance tool that assists farmers with their day-to-day activities both on large and small farmlands in any corner of the globe.

How does monoculture work?

Monoculture planting maximizes the efficient use of soil and local climate conditions. In most cases, farmers select the crop that will thrive best in the local environment. The positive effects of monoculture farming are often seen with such crops as rice (grown in conditions similar to those of wetlands) and wheat (which is grown in flat areas with plenty of sunlight). Plants that can resist or thrive in specific weather conditions (e.g. drought, winds or colder average temperatures) become the focal point of the agricultural monoculture system. In contrast, a traditional farmer is concerned with crop variety and implements a complex schedule of planting, maintenance, and harvesting to maximize the production of different crops. Despite this increased effort, the productivity and efficiency of monoculture farming is usually higher.

What crops have better yields?

Some types of crops, such as cereals for example, are deemed to have better yields when sown and grown as monocultures, i.e. without other crops adjacent to them on a field. However, such maximization of yields with monoculture planting can only be achieved on the condition of yearly rotation of at least two different crops on the given farmland. In this regard, it is also worth noting that with the EOS Crop Monitoring software farmers can generate productivity maps to identify the field plots with better performance. Such productivity maps allow farmers to plant their seeds with greater precision that potentially will result in higher yields.

Why is monoculture important for farmers?

Industrial monoculture planting allows farmers to specialize in a particular crop, as they usually deal with the same issues and problems that may arise in the process of growing. The advantage of such specialization is that it increases profits and reduces costs, given that no additional machinery or other resources are required except for those needed to work with this specific kind of crop. Moreover, when a single crop is cultivated in a field, it is easier to conduct a satellite monitoring of its health and development. This approach in Crop Monitoring is based on 5 main indices (NDVI, MSAVI, NDRE, ReCl); each of them is more applicable to the particular stage of crop development. Also, these vegetation indices correlate with the Growth Stages feature in Crop Monitoring, which is specific for each crop.

Why do monocrops grow only one plant?

Growing only one plant tends to deplete the soil’s nutrients over time, and leaving fields bare for the winter can hasten erosion. Monocrops also provide a friendly home for pests that happen to like that crop, since it shows up reliably, every spring.

Why are monocrops bad for the environment?

There are two problems with monocrops. The first is that they are not conducive to good soil health. The second is that, when all your eggs are in one basket, you’re vulnerable to a devastating loss; think Irish potato famine. Half of our 300 million farmed acres are planted with corn and soy, and that’s a very big basket.

Why do farmers plant only one or two crops?

“There’s an economic advantage to specialization,” says Griffin. “One of the reasons for the duoculture is that the equipment for corn and soy is identical. If you add one more crop, and grow wheat, just that one change requires a specialized planter.” He adds that there are marketing concerns. The farmer who takes corn and soy to a local grain dealer might not have an outlet for potatoes.

How much corn is planted in a three year period?

The most recent data indicate that 16 percent of corn, 14 percent of spring wheat and 6 percent of soybean acreage is continuously planted with one crop over a three-year period. Much more common is what I’ll call a duocrop.

How many acres does Garry Niemeyer grow?

Garry Niemeyer grows corn and soy on 2,100 acres in Illinois, and he sometimes plants corn continuously because he can yield 230 bushels an acre, which makes corn more profitable for him than soy. He’s perfectly aware that continuous planting will degrade his soil, and he rotates in other crops before that happens.

What happens if you add one more crop and grow wheat?

If you add one more crop, and grow wheat, just that one change requires a specialized planter.”. He adds that there are marketing concerns. The farmer who takes corn and soy to a local grain dealer might not have an outlet for potatoes.

What is the central tenet of organic farming?

Maintaining soil health is the central tenet of organic farming, but I’ve never met a farmer, organic or conventional, who wasn’t concerned about it. Crop rotation, even if it’s just the two crops, is one way farmers of commodity crops are balancing the need to keep their farms healthy with the need to grow the plants they can sell.

What is monoculture in agriculture?

Crop variety mixtures and intercropping. Monocultures, based on a single variety of a single species and often grown on a large scale, predominate in agriculture. The success of this approach in conventional farming owes much to the use of synthetic pesticides for crop protection.

What is monoculture farming?

Monoculture/solely crop production farms are the farming types by which farmers grow only crops, both annual crops/trees and field crops, such as wheat, corn, rice, rapeseed, sugar cane, and cotton. Monoculture is widely used in industrial farming systems, including conventional and organic farming, and has allowed increased efficiency in planting …

What is monoculture in the GI tract?

Monocultures are unable to represent the complexity of any segment of the GI tract. For instance, small intestinal epithelium not only includes enterocytes (epithelial cells) but also mucus-secreting goblet cells, as well as immune cells in certain regions (Peyer’s patches).

What is the purpose of monoculture?

Monocultures are used to estimate biodiversity effect, that is the difference in production between full diversity and monoculture treatments (de Wit and van den Bergh, 1965;

How do coculture models work?

Many different models have been developed that are suited to the study of different aspects of biology. In their simplest forms, co-culture models to study cell-cell interactions involve the co-culture of multiple cell types upon tissue culture plastic (TCP) in 2D. However, as discussed above both the stiffness of tissue culture plastic, which is known to affect cellular behavior, and the inability to represent the more complex 3D structure of the native tissue are substantial limitations in the use of such models. Advances in materials science have led to new approaches to performing coculture models in vitro.

What are the negative effects of crop rotation?

Many effects are site specific, but they include decreased soil organic matter content, degraded soil structure, increased soil erosion, increased sedimentation of reservoirs, increased need for external inputs, and increased surface and groundwater contamination. Long-term effects of not using crop rotations are not clear, but it is reasonable to question if the substitution of capital, energy, and synthetic chemicals is sustainable ( Bullock, 1992 ). These questions are raised as we look toward the 21st century, because, as stated by Hauptli et al. (1990), “Modern agriculture is a very recent development, when considered in the context of evolution or even human history.”

Is corn grown in monoculture?

Crop rotation has not been abandoned in the United States. Approximately 20% of the corn is grown in continuous monoculture, but most of the remaining 80% is grown in a 2-year rotation with soybean or in short (2- or 3-year) rotations with alfalfa, cotton, dry beans, or other crops (Power and Follett, 1987).

What is monoculture in agriculture?

Monoculture in ag involves the growing of a single crop using the majority or whole of the land. This method of farming is particularly popular in industrialized regions. This strategy benefits farmers as it allows reduced costs, but when a single variety …

Why is monoculture important in agriculture?

This strategy benefits farmers as it allows reduced costs, but when a single variety of species is grown it can also endanger the farm to widespread crop failure. The cultivating of monocultures is very much a modern method of agricultural production.

Why is corn more susceptible to organisms?

This happened due to 70% of the crop being grown at the same high yield variety, making the corn more susceptible to harmful organisms. With the lack of diversity in a monoculture system it can cause a limit to the healthy functions nature can bring to crops and soil.

Why is it important to maintain a diverse crop?

A variety of crops will allow crop failures without ruining the entire economy of a farm specializing in a monoculture such as coffee or tobacco.

What is the primary aim of commercial modern agriculture?

Commercial modern agriculture has the primary aim of increasing yields and profits by cultivating one distinct crop. The principle belief which monoculture farmers have is that by providing the individual needs for just a single species of crop it will be more efficient and profitable.

What are the negative effects of monoculture?

While monoculture has its place for profitability, it also has significant negative drawbacks with potential to cause irreversible damage to the ecological system. An example of the devastation monocultural farming can cause is the corn blight of 1970 which ruined more than 15 percent of corn crops in North America.

How does permaculture work?

Permaculture is effectively a reversal in that it promotes biodiversity and the implantation of a diverse range of crops. This method of farming intends to ensure the ecosystem remains strong with different plants working together to thrive the land.

Overview

In agriculture, monocropping is the practice of growing a single crop year after year on the same land. Maize, soybeans, and wheat are three common crops often monocropped. Monocropping is also referred to as continuous cropping, as in “continuous corn.” Monocropping allows for farmers to have consistent crops throughout their entire farm. They can plant only the most profitable crop, use the same seed, pest control, machinery, and growing method on their entire farm, whic…

Strategy

Difficulties

Soil ecology

Deforestation

See also

The Origins of Monocropping

See more on treehugger.com

Monocropping and The Loss of Diversity in Food and Culture

Monocropping and Climate Change

Alternatives to Monocropping