Intercropping
Benefits: - Crop yields increase, total farm output is generally raised and varies less from year to year. - Harvests are spread, extending food supply over a longer period. - A variety of food is produced reducing the risk faced by farmers who rely on single crops. - Weed invasion is reduced. - The damage done by pests and diseases is reduced. - Soil fertility is improved for future crops. - Environmental resources (solar radiation, soil nutrients, water) are maximized. - Soil erosion is reduced through better cover from sun and rain. - Space is provided for crops required in small quantities (plants for sauces, medicinal herbs, gourds) and for fuel and fodder cross. Disadvantages: - Weeding cannot be mechanized, and has to be done more carefully. - Husbandry is labour intensive. - There are few herbicides that can be used on mixed crops. MAJOR SOURCES Abstracts on Intercropping (1986) Volume 5 Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Technische Zussammenarbeit (GTZ) Dag-Hammarskjold-Weg 1-2 Postfach 5180 D-6236 Eschborn 1 Germany Dover, M. and L.M. Talbot, 1987. To Feed the Earth. Agroecology for sustainable development. World Resources Institute Norman, M.J.T. et al., 1984. The Ecology of Tropical Food Crops. Cambridae Universitv Press Beets, W.C., 1982. Multiple cropping and tropical farming systems. Gower Arnon. I., 1981. Modernisation of Agriculture in Developing Countries. John Wiley and Sons
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| Format: | News Item biblioteca |
| Language: | English |
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Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation
1988
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| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/44843 http://collections.infocollections.org/ukedu/en/d/Jcta15e/ |
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