Question

Describe how the practices of mixed cultivation and crop rotation help in increasing the crop yield.

Answer 1

The techniques such as mixed cultivation and crop rotation help restore the fertility of the soil and increases the crop yield.
(i)Mixed cultivation: It is the technique wherein two or more crops are sown simultaneously on the same land, without any definite pattern. This system minimizes the risk of crop failure. The crops selected to be grown together are such that their products and waste materials benefit one another. For example, if wheat is grown along with a leguminous crop such as gram, then the uptake of nitrogen from the soil by the wheat crop is compensated through the addition of nitrogen to the soil by the leguminous crop.
(ii) Crop rotation: It is the practise of growing two or more varieties of crops in the same field in subsequent seasons. The duration of crop rotation determines the crops to be sown. For example:

• For one-year rotation: maize and mustard or wheat and rice are sown in succession.
• For two-year rotation: maize, mustard, sugarcane and methi are sown in succession.