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WHAT DO YOU MEAN CROPROTATION
Crop rotation is one of the oldest and most effective cultural control strategies. It means the planned order of specific crops planted on the same field. It also means that the succeeding crop belongs to a different family than the previous one. The planned rotation may vary from 2 or 3 year or longer period.

Some insect pests and disease-causing organisms are hosts' specific. For example, rice stem borer feeds mostly on rice. If you don't rotate rice with other crops belonging to a different family, the problem continues as food is always available to the pest. However, if you plant legume as the next crop, then corn, then beans, then bulbs, the insect pest will likely die due to absence of food.

Advantages of crop rotation

  •     Prevents soil depletion
  •     Maintains soil fertility
  •     Reduces soil erosion
  •     Controls insect/mite pests.
  • Crop rotation as a means to control to insect pests is most effective when the pests are present before the crop is planted have no wide range of host crops; attack only annual/biennial crops; and do not have the ability to fly from one field to another.
  •     Reduces reliance on synthetic chemicals
  •     Reduces the pests' build-up
  •     Prevents diseases
  •     Helps control weeds


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