Question

Which among the following are the advantages of mixed cropping?

• A. Legumes in the cropping pattern maintains soil fertility.
• B. The water content in the soil is reduced.
• C. Damage due to pests are reduced significantly.
• D. Harvesting is easier with mixed cropping.

Answer 1

Answer: (A), (C)

Damage due to pests are reduced significantly.

The practice of growing two or more crops at the same time in a field is called mixed cropping.

The advantages of mixed cropping are as follows:
1. Including legumes in the cropping pattern helps to maintain soil fertility by fixing nitrogen in the soil.
2. Loss from pests and diseases are reduced as growing more than one crop reduces the amount of suitable crops for them.

The disadvantages of mixed cropping are as follows:
1. Sprinkling of insecticides and pesticides is difficult as no particular pattern is followed.
2. Harvesting and threshing of crops are difficult.