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Crop rotation: a sustainable system for maize production
About This Book
Modern agriculture has led to a simplification of maize-based cropping systems and the extensive practice of monoculture maize (MM). This has led to problems such as yield reduction and soil quality degradation. Meanwhile, the overuse of inorganic fertilizer to increase yields comes with a high environmental cost. Maize grown in rotation with grain or forage legume crops often yields more and requires less application of synthetic chemicals (e.g. fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides) than continuous MM. Thus, maizeâlegume rotations in tandem with the application of farmyard or dairy manure or other organic wastes is deemed an environmental-friendly strategy for sustainable agriculture development, and can help the agri-food production sector to produce affordable and healthy foods for consumers, reduce air and water pollution and build-up healthy soil for the farmers of tomorrow. This chapter summarizes the recent literature on the agronomic, economic, ecological and environmental assessments of maizeâlegume crop rotation systems.
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Table of contents
- 1âIntroduction: escalating global food demand and environmental challenges
- 2âThe simplification of cropping systems and associated problems for sustainability
- 3âYield enhancement in maizeâlegume rotation systems
- 4âThe impact of crop rotation on soil quality
- 5âThe impact of crop rotation on soil fertility and nutrient use efficiency
- 6âAdditional benefits of maizeâlegume rotation
- 7âSummary and future perspectives
- 8âWhere to look for further information
- 9âAcknowledgements
- 10âReferences