
Crop rotation is an important pillar of no-till (NT) cropping systems for soil fertility management, and pests and disease control. In this chapter, the potential benefits of crop rotations under NT systems are discussed and challenges highlighted, including possible solutions where it was practical to do so. Cereal-grain legume rotations are the most ideal for small farms, especially the dual-purpose legumes, which play a significant role in nutritional diversity at the farm level. This is because the legume will produce edible leaves and grains – and sometimes mature earlier than the main crop covering critical food deficit periods before the main crop is harvested. However, limited landholdings prevent widespread adoption of cereal-legume rotations. Large scale farmers have many crop rotations options, and they are able to make a profit due to fuel and labor savings with NT in combination with cultivating cash legumes on a large scale, which have multiple uses as food or feed. In the future, the design of crop rotations has to address a range of issues, especially for small scale farmers, including: (a) small land sizes; (b) multiple uses of legumes crops, including leaves; (c) crop-livestock integration and use of crop residues as livestock feed; (d) poorly developed markets for legumes; (e) differences in planting techniques between legumes and non-legumes; and (f) farmers perception of risk. It is concluded that crop rotation is an integral component of good agricultural practice and is much more critical in NT systems where pests and diseases outbreak is high, and additional N from nitrogen fixation needed.
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