Farming Practices: A Deep Dive into Diverse Cropping Systems

Farming Practices: Diverse Cropping Systems

Irrigated Agriculture

This method involves supplying large quantities of water to crops through artificial means like canals, ditches, sprinklers, and pools. It requires significant economic investment and careful water infrastructure management. Key crops include fruits, rice, cotton, vegetables, and sugar beets.

Dryland Farming

Dryland farming relies solely on natural rainfall for water supply. Crops grown using this method include pulses, sunflower, soybean, peanut, barley, rye, grapes, olives, and wheat—the Mediterranean trilogy.

Intensive Agriculture

This system maximizes yields through substantial capital investments (materials and technology) and/or labor. High productivity is achieved through efficient resource use.

Low Productivity Agriculture

Characterized by high labor input and low capital investment, this type of agriculture may focus on extensive farming for market or subsistence.

Subsistence Agriculture

Subsistence agriculture is known for its use of archaic techniques, heavy reliance on the physical environment, and low productivity. A large portion of the production is consumed by the farming population. This practice is common in less developed regions of Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

Shifting Cultivation (Slash-and-Burn)

This extensive system employs rudimentary tools and techniques. Vegetation is burned to enrich the soil with ash, followed by planting and harvesting crops like millet, maize, sorghum, and cassava. Once the land is exhausted, farmers move to a new location and repeat the process.

Intensive Subsistence Farming in Monsoon Asia

This intensive system centers around rice cultivation in small plots, surrounded by levees and canals for floodwater management. Multiple harvests per year are common.