Classification of crop rotations

Field crop rotations

A field crop rotation is a crop rotation intended for the production of grain, industrial, or forage crops. This is the most universal type of crop rotation, whose main task is the efficient use of arable land with continuous reproduction of soil fertility and obtaining high yields of agricultural crops.

Because different crops make unequal demands on living conditions, which in turn can differ greatly depending on the natural-climatic zone, the universality of field crop rotations most fully meets the requirements of agricultural production under specific conditions.

Forage crop rotations

A forage crop rotation is a crop rotation intended mainly for the production of coarse, succulent, and green fodder. Most of the arable land is occupied by various types of forage crops. Although perennial and annual grasses and silage crops can be grown in field crop rotations, feed production is insufficient to meet the needs of large livestock farms. Therefore, there is a need to use forage crop rotations, which form the basis of feed production.

The great diversity of crops in forage crop rotations makes it possible to provide the necessary range of feeds for livestock and also to design a crop rotation with an optimal structure of sown areas.

Forage crop rotations are evaluated by the yield of feed units, crude protein, especially valuable amino acids, vitamins, and carotene per 1 ha of arable land, while simultaneously assessing the cost of a feed or feed-protein unit. If grain, industrial, and other crops are present in forage crop rotations, the overall average return in monetary terms per 1 ha of arable area at current prices is assessed. Economic assessment can be supplemented by an energy assessment of energy and technical resources costs per unit of production.

Special crop rotations

A special crop rotation is a crop rotation intended for the cultivation of crops requiring special agronomic practices and special conditions. Special rotations include vegetable, cucurbit, medicinal, essential-oil crops, hemp, tobacco (makhorka), rice, strawberry, fruit-nursery, etc. Requirements for special conditions are related to the biological characteristics of their cultivation, for example, placement on plots with high soil fertility, the presence of irrigation systems, application of high doses of organic and mineral fertilizers, and features of care and plant protection. A separate place in specialized rotations is given to soil-protective crop rotation.

Grain-fallow

A grain-fallow crop rotation is a crop rotation in which continuous-sown cereal crops predominate and clean fallow fields (fallow links) are used. For example:

• 1 — clean fallow, 2–3 — spring wheat, 4 — barley or oats.

Grain-fallow rotations have been used in Russia since the 14th–15th centuries. They were the basis of the three-field farming system:

• 1 — fallow field, 2 — winter cereals, 3 — spring cereals.

In modern farming, the grain-fallow rotation is the basis of soil-protective systems in the arid steppes of the Southern Urals, Altai, Western Siberia, and other steppe regions of eastern Russia, where 4- and 5-field grain-fallow rotations are widespread, including one field of clean strip fallow, 2–3 — spring wheat, and one combined field with grain legumes and groat crops or a field of feed-grain crops.

In a harsh continental climate with a short arid summer period and the absence of grain legumes and row crops, clean fallow is the only good predecessor for sowing spring wheat. They make it possible to ensure stable yields of this crop through the accumulation of soil water and effective control of weeds. Under these conditions, short three-, four-, and five-field grain-fallow rotations of spring wheat with repeated sowings, interrupted in the five-field rotation by oats or barley, are widespread:

• 1 — clean fallow, 2–3 — spring wheat, 4 — barley, 5 — spring wheat;
• 1 — clean strip fallow, 2–3 — spring wheat, 4 — barley.

The share of cereal, grain legume, and groat crops in such rotations accounts for up to 75–80% of arable area, which is characteristic of the grain specialization of agricultural enterprises in eastern Russia.

Grain-fallow-row crop

A grain-fallow-row crop rotation is a rotation with a predominance of continuous-sown cereal crops alternating with clean fallow and row crops. The share of cereals can account for up to 70% of arable area, and with sowings of maize for grain, even more.

Example: 1 — clean fallow, 2 — cereals, 3 — row crops, 4 — cereals. In this example, half of the cereals are sown after the best predecessors. In effectiveness, this alternation is comparable to fruit-changing. Another five-field example, with a 60% share of cereals, is:

• 1 — clean fallow, 2–3 — cereals, 4 — row crops, 5 — cereals.

In a six-field rotation, the share of cereals, thanks to the combination of fallow and row-crop links, can be increased to 2/3 (67%):

• 1 — clean fallow, 2–3 — cereals, 4 — row crops, 5–6 — cereals.

The rotation of this crop rotation can be lengthened by adding a third cereal link, for example:

• 1 — fallow, 2–3 — cereals, 4 — grain legumes or groat crops, 5 — cereals, 6 — row crops, 7–8 — cereals.

Grain-fallow-row crop rotations originated from grain-fallow rotations and are improved grain multi-field rotations, numbering up to 10–12 fields. They have become widespread in the semi-arid steppe and forest-steppe regions of the European part of Russia: in the Volga region, the North Caucasus and the Southeast, in the southern part of the Central Chernozem zone.

A typical example is the ten-field alternation of one enterprise in Volgograd Oblast:

• 1 — clean fallow, 2 — winter wheat, 3 — maize for grain, 4 — spring wheat, 5 — barley, 6 — peas, 7 — winter rye, 8 — spring wheat, 9 — millet, 10 — sunflower.

An example of a grain-fallow-row crop rotation used in the zone of unstable moisture of Stavropol Krai:

• 1 — clean fallow, 2 — winter wheat, 3 — winter wheat, 4 — maize for grain, 5 — sunflower, 6 — pea-oat mixture for green fodder, 7 — winter wheat, 8 — winter wheat, 9 — maize for grain, 10 — barley.

In the steppe semi-arid regions of the Southern Urals and the North Caucasus, the Middle and Lower Volga region, a simplified grain-fallow-row crop rotation with a shorter rotation is used:

• 1 — clean fallow, 2–3 — cereals, 4 — row crops, 5–6 — cereals.

Under the conditions of the North Caucasus, winter barley is grown, while the share of winter wheat and barley in 10–12-field field rotations can reach up to 50%. If such rotations contain 2–3 row-crop links, winter crops can be placed after row crops with an early harvest date, for example, maize for silage.

The disadvantage of this type with a high share of clean fallow and row crops is weak soil protection from erosion. Therefore, when using it, special measures are taken aimed at protection in steppe regions — from wind erosion; on slopes with an angle of more than 1.5–2° — from water erosion.

Grain-row crop

A grain-row crop rotation is a rotation in which cereals predominate, alternating with row crops. They are widespread in areas of sufficient moisture with grain production, where the need for clean fallow disappears, for example, in the Central Chernozem zone (with sufficient moisture), the North Caucasus, the Non-Chernozem zone, and the Far East.

In them, row crops are replaced by cereals, groat crops, or grain legumes going one or two years in a row. For example, for potato rotations on light soils of the Non-Chernozem zone, the following alternations are used:

• 1 — early potato, 2 — winter rye, 3 — lupine for grain, 4 — potato, 5 — oats;
• 1 — grain legumes, 2–3 — winter wheat, 4 — maize, 5–6 — winter wheat, 7 — sugar beet, 8 — barley, 9 — maize, 10 — winter wheat;
• Far Eastern soybean rotation: 1 — soybean, 2–3 — wheat, 4 — soybean, 5 — barley.

As in the case of grain-fallow-row crop rotation, the grain-row crop rotation requires special measures to protect soil from erosion.

Grain-fallow-grass

A grain-fallow-grass crop rotation is a rotation with a predominance of cereal crops alternating with clean fallow and perennial grasses. Fields of industrial non-row crops, for example fiber flax, may be introduced in them. An example is the Volokolamsk eight-field rotation:

• 1 — clean fallow, 2 — winter cereals with undersowing of clover, 3–4 — clover, 5 — fiber flax or spring cereals, 6 — clean fallow, 7 — winter cereals, 8 — spring cereals.

Grain-fallow-grass rotations are improved grain rotations used in the northern regions of the European part of Russia.

In the northeastern part of the Non-Chernozem zone, an eight-field alternation is used:

• 1 — clean fallow, 2 — winter rye, 3 — barley with undersowing of perennial grasses, 4–5 — perennial grasses, 6 — winter rye, 7 — oats, 8 — barley.

Grain-grass

A grain-grass crop rotation is a rotation with a predominance of continuous-sown cereal crops, with the remaining arable area occupied by perennial and annual grasses. They are also a variety of improved grain rotations. An example of the transition from a three-field system to more advanced farming systems is the same Volokolamsk eight-field rotation, in which two fields are allocated for perennial grasses and the other two for clean fallow. Later, clean fallow in them was replaced by occupied fallow, with an increase in the share of perennial grasses.

In modern agriculture, grain-grass rotations are used in the Non-Chernozem zone, on farms with a small share of row crops or with row crops moved to separate farmstead rotations. For example, 7-field:

• 1 — occupied fallow, 2 — winter cereals, 3 — spring cereals with undersowing of perennial grasses, 4–5 — perennial grasses, 6 — winter cereals, 7 — spring cereals.

In the 8-field rotation, a field of fiber flax is added between perennial grasses and winter crops:

• 1 — occupied fallow, 2 — winter crops with undersowing of perennial grasses, 3–4 — perennial grasses of the 1st–2nd year of use, 5 — fiber flax, 6 — winter cereals, 7 — spring cereals.

If occupied fallow is replaced by clean fallow, which has become more common in recent years, the seven-field rotation turns into a grain-fallow-grass crop rotation.

Because grain-grass crop rotation uses perennial grasses and winter cereals with good soil-protective properties, and they account for most of the arable land, they can be used on slope lands with a steepness of up to 5–7° for protection from erosion.

Grain-grass-fallow-row crop

A grain-grass-fallow-row crop rotation is a rotation in which cereals alternate with clean fallow, perennial grasses, and row crops. Their structure of sown areas is close to fruit-changing, but a field of clean fallow remains:

• 1 — clean fallow, 2 — winter wheat, 3 — potato, 4 — barley with undersowing of perennial grasses, 5–6 — perennial grasses, 7 — winter wheat, 8 — oats.

The grain-grass-fallow-row crop rotation is the result of further improvement of the grain-fallow three-field rotation. Replacing clean fallow with occupied fallow and introducing another field of row crops turns it into the classical scheme of fruit-changing.

Fruit-changing

A fruit-changing crop rotation is a rotation in which cereals account for up to half of the arable area, alternating with row and leguminous crops. It was first used in England in Norfolk County with the following alternation scheme:

• 1 — row crops, 2 — spring cereals with undersowing of clover, 3 — clover, 4 — winter cereals.

In it, cereals occupy 50%, legumes and row crops — 25% each, which makes it possible to optimally maintain the principle of fruit-changing, that is, such an order of alternation in which crops sharply differing in biology and cultivation technology constantly replace each other in the fields. In a fruit-changing crop rotation, the cultivation of cereal crops is interrupted either by row crops from another family and with a different cultivation technology, or by legumes, which are the best predecessors of cereals.

The Norfolk fruit-changing rotation is a combination of two-field links in which one field is allocated for cereals and the other for row or leguminous predecessors. The transition to the Norfolk fruit-changing rotation from the grain-fallow three-field rotation was associated with the replacement of clean fallow by a leguminous crop (clover) and the inclusion of a row crop (turnip) between the repeated cultivation of two cereal crops. Such a change from the grain-fallow three-field rotation to a four-field fruit-changing rotation was a great step toward the intensification of farming, which became a new stage in the development of agriculture.

In modern farming systems, the classical scheme of fruit-changing has expanded with a set of row and leguminous crops, and the rotation has lengthened. Leguminous crops are often represented by perennial grasses in mixtures with cereal grasses of two-year use or by several fields of grain legumes. A fruit-changing crop rotation may include 2–3 fields of row crops. The duration of rotations of modern variants can reach 8–12 years.

Fruit-changing rotations are used in some regions of the Central Chernozem and Non-Chernozem zones, on irrigated lands of the southern regions of the country, where the agronomic effect of 2–3-year use of alfalfa is well manifested. An example is the eight-field rotation widespread in the Non-Chernozem zone:

• 1–2 — perennial grasses, 3 — winter cereals, 4 — potato, 5 — spring cereals or grain legumes, 6 — winter cereals, 7 — maize for silage, 8 — spring cereals with undersowing of perennial grasses.

In the forest-steppe zone of the European part of Russia and in the Kuban regions with sufficient moisture, a typical example is:

• 1 — occupied fallow, 2 — winter wheat, 3 — sugar beet, 4 — spring cereals with undersowing of perennial grasses, 5 — perennial grasses, 6 — winter wheat, 7 — maize for grain and silage, 8 — peas, 9 — winter wheat, 10 — maize for grain, 11 — sunflower, millet.

Fruit-changing rotations, including 2–3 fields of row crops, have a low soil-protective function, therefore on slopes with a steepness of more than 2° it is necessary to apply a system of special soil-protective measures.

The fruit-changing crop rotation is one of the ways to increase the turnover of nutrients in a specific territory and increase the productivity of cultivated crops.

Grass-field

A grass-field crop rotation is a rotation in which most of the arable land is occupied by perennial grasses; the remaining share is occupied by annual grasses, sometimes feed-grain crops. This type is used in the forage type and serves as the basis of intensive meadow-pasture farming with the following alternation scheme:

• 1–5 — perennial grasses, 6 — annual grasses with undersowing of perennial grasses.

In them, perennial grasses in the first and second years of use are intended for hay, in subsequent years — for grazing livestock. In cases of combining the production of green and coarse feeds with the production of feed-grain feeds or with the cultivation of non-row industrial crops, the following alternation scheme is possible:

• 1–4 — perennial grasses, 5 — cereal crops or fiber flax, 6 — annual grasses, 7 — spring cereals with undersowing of perennial grasses. This type approaches grass-grain.

Grass-field rotations have excellent soil-protective properties, so they are used in areas with wind and water erosion.

Grass-grain

A grass-grain crop rotation is a rotation in which half or more of the arable land is allocated to perennial and annual grasses, and the rest to cereal crops. An example of a grass-grain rotation for the Non-Chernozem zone is the following alternation:

• 1–4 — perennial grasses, 5 — winter wheat, 6 — oats, 7 — barley, 8 — annual grasses with undersowing of perennial grasses.

The task of the grass-grain crop rotation is the production of coarse feed and feed grain; it supplements farmstead and hay-pasture forage rotations.

Rotations with perennial grasses are widespread in the Non-Chernozem zone in areas with sufficient moisture. At a low level of intensification, they have very good soil-protective properties.

Grass-row crop

A grass-row crop rotation is a rotation alternating row crops and perennial grasses. As a rule, perennial grasses occupy 2–3 or more fields. They are used as field crop rotations under irrigation in the southern regions for the production of grain, industrial, or forage crops:

• 1–2 — alfalfa, 3 — sugar beet, 4 — maize for grain, 5 — grain legumes, 6 — sugar beet, 7 — barley with undersowing of alfalfa.

In the southwestern part of the Non-Chernozem zone on peat-bog soils, the following alternation schemes are used:

• 1–3 — perennial grasses, 4 — winter cereals, 5 — sugar beet, 6 — potato, 7 — maize, 8 — maize and grain legumes, 9 — annual grasses with undersowing of perennial grasses;
• 1–2 — perennial grasses of the 1st–2nd year of use, 3 — maize, 4 — potato, 5 — root crops, 6 — silage crops, 7 — annual grasses with undersowing of perennial grasses.

Vegetable-forage

Vegetable-forage crop rotations are special rotations used in vegetable growing, including vegetable crops and perennial grasses. For example:

• 1–2 — perennial grasses, 3 — cabbage, 4 — tomato, 5 — cucumber, 6 — onion, 7 — table root crops, 8 — annual grasses with undersowing of perennial grasses.

Row crop

A row-crop rotation is a rotation in which a large share of the sown area is occupied by row crops. It is the most intensive type of crop rotation; with a high degree of saturation with row crops, they continuously replace each other for several years. Due to the species differences of row crops, it is possible to avoid negative phenomena arising from repeated and continuous sowings.

Row-crop rotations first appeared in the late 19th — early 20th century in individual farms in Russia specializing in the production of factory sugar beet, vegetables, and potato. In Central Asia they were the basis of cotton growing. At present they are used in areas of sufficient moisture and on irrigated lands. For example, in the Central region of Krasnodar Krai, the following alternation scheme is used:

• 1 — maize for grain, 2 — sunflower, 3 — grain legumes, 4 — winter wheat, 5 — sugar beet, 6 — maize for grain, 7 — maize for silage, 8 — winter wheat, 9 — sugar beet, 10 — winter barley with post-harvest sowing of maize;
• 1 — maize for silage, 2 — winter wheat, 3 — sugar beet, 4 — maize for grain, 5 — winter wheat, 6 — sunflower, 7 — winter wheat, 8 — sugar beet, 9 — maize for grain, 10 — barley.

Under irrigation conditions of the Southeast, North Caucasus, and other southern regions, most vegetable crop rotations are row-crop. In the Non-Chernozem zone, in areas of sufficient moisture of the forest-steppe zone, farmstead forage rotations have a short rotation with a predominance of row crops:

• 1 — annual grasses, 2 — fodder root crops and potato, 3 — maize for silage, 4 — sunflower for silage.

A major disadvantage of row-crop rotations is very poor soil-protective functions; for this reason they should be placed on flat lands or with a slight slope, subject to the use of soil-protective measures.

Green-manure

A green-manure crop rotation is a rotation in which one or several fields are allocated for green-manure crops. They are used on poor sandy and sandy loam soils, the share of which, for example, in the Non-Chernozem zone can be about 30% of arable area. Example of a green-manure rotation:

• 1 — lupine for green manure, 2 — winter rye, 3 — potato, 4 — oats.

In the southern regions of the Non-Chernozem zone, the effect of a green-manure crop can be enhanced by additional post-harvest green manuring in combination with the use of straw as organic fertilizer:

• 1 — annual lupine for green manure, 2 — winter rye, 3 — potato, 4 — annual grasses for feed, 5 — winter rye + post-harvest green manure with straw fertilizer, 6 — maize for silage, 7 — oats;
• 1 — lupine, 2 — winter rye, 3 — spring wheat, 4 — serradella, 5 — winter wheat, 6 — potato, 7 — oats or barley.

As green-manure crops, annual and perennial lupine, serradella, clover, sweet clover, white mustard, oil radish, rapeseed, and other leguminous crops can be used.