Enriched crop rotations: key to an ecologically as well as economically sustainable agriculture

The design of crop rotations is one of the most important tasks in modern agriculture. It presents farmers with challenges and opportunities alike.

Due to efficient crop protection and economic pressure, particularly high-yield and economical crops used to dominate the crop rotation. However, with increasing resistance to weeds and pests on the one hand and dwindling opportunities in chemical crop protection on the other hand, narrow crop rotations are reaching their limits.

Here, an enriched rotation with additional crops and optimised patterns can contribute to the solution. Needless to say, the cultivation decision must be economically viable and match the site conditions, as it is the farmer's income.

Having this said, enriched crop rotations push the perspective: Here the cultivation decision not only depends on the contribution margin of a main crop, but takes the advantages over the entire crop rotation into account.