Polyculture

{

"text": "Polyculture is an agricultural practice where multiple crop species grow together in the same location at the same time.

This method stands in direct contrast to monoculture. Monoculture is the practice of growing only one type of crop in a field. While monoculture became the dominant approach in developed countries by 1950, polyculture has remained a vital tradition. It is used widely in regions like the Himalayas, Eastern Asia, South America, and Africa. This method is valued because it increases total yield by harvesting many crops from one area. It also reduces the risk of total crop failure.

\n\nThe success of polyculture relies on complex biological interactions between different species. These interactions can be beneficial, known as facilitation or complementarity. For example, legumes are plants that can fix nitrogen in the soil. This process adds essential nutrients that help other neighboring plants grow. Other plants use different root structures to improve the environment. Taproots can create pores in the soil for air and water to move through. This improves the physical and structural properties of the soil. However, plants also compete for resources like sunlight, water, and nutrients. Some plants even use allelopathy, where they release substances to inhibit the growth of others.

\n\nFarmers use several distinct methods to organize these diverse crops. In intercropping, or companion planting, two or more crops are grown alongside each other. A variant of this is strip cropping, where crops are planted in long, alternating rows. Some farmers use cover crops, such as grasses or legumes, to protect the soil. These plants are not the main crop but help suppress weeds and retain water. Another method is the use of a living mulch. In horticulture, a living mulch involves a second crop, like the marigold, to crowd out weeds. Marigolds are popular because they produce chemicals that repel pests.

\n\nHistory shows that polyculture is one of the oldest ways to farm the land. In Mesoamerica, indigenous civilizations developed the \"Three Sisters" system about 3,000 years ago.

This system intercrops maize, beans, and squash. The maize provides a structure for the beans to climb. The beans fix nitrogen for the group. The squash grows low to the ground to suppress weeds. In China, cereals have been intercropped for at least 1,000 years. This practice continues today on 28 to 34 million hectares. In Africa, complex mixed cropping has been practiced for many centuries.

\n\nDifferent regions create unique polyculture systems based on their environments. In Nigeria, complex mixed cropping can involve as many as 13 different crops at once. This might include rice grown between mounds of cassava, cowpea, maize, and various yams. In Asia, many systems combine terrestrial plants with aquatic animals. Rice-fish, rice-duck, and rice-fish-duck systems are common in China, Japan, and Indonesia.

These systems produce valuable extra crops like freshwater fish. In Indonesia, a combination of rice, fish, ducks, and water fern creates a productive permaculture system.

Some agroforestry systems even grow coffee under shade trees.

\n\nPolyculture offers significant environmental and nutritional advantages. By increasing plant density, it makes the environment less hospitable to weeds. This reduces the need for artificial herbicides and fertilizers. Increased biodiversity can also attract more pollinators to the area. This is a form of reconciliation ecology, where humans accommodate biodiversity within landscapes. Diverse crops also lead to a more varied and healthier diet for people. Because polycultures mimic natural ecosystems, they can also help manage pests naturally. The disease-diversity hypothesis suggests that more plant variety decreases the severity of diseases.

\n\nDespite these benefits, polyculture presents certain challenges for modern management. It requires a high level of skill to manage many different species. It can be difficult to use heavy machinery when crops have different sowing depths or spacings. Harvesting can also be hard because it is difficult to separate different crops. Furthermore, competition between species can sometimes reduce the yield of individual plants. However, as climate change impacts the world, polycultures are regaining popularity. Many food producers in developed countries are looking to these traditional methods to reduce environmental impacts.

",

"media": [

"File:Milpa 2011.jpg",

"File:Companion Planting Mechanisms.svg",

"File:Living mulch planted to keep down weeds between crop rows.jpg",

"File:Ducks (6337601928).jpg",

"File:Coffee farm in Colombia.jpg",

"File:Pesticides application 02.jpg"

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}