Instant Insights

Chapter 1 - Effects of crop rotations and intercropping on soil health: Gilbert C. Sigua, USDA-ARS, USA;

1 Introduction

2 Defining soil health

3 Indicators of soil health

4 The roles of soil organic matter in soil health

5 Managing soil health: crop rotation

6 Managing soil health: intercropping

7 Nitrogen fixation and transfer in crop rotation and intercropping

8 Summary and future trends

9 Where to look for further information

10 References

Chapter 2 - The role of crop rotations in organic farming: Bernhard Freyer, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU), Austria;

1 Introduction

2 Principles of crop rotation

3 Precrop effects in crop rotations

4 Nutrient effects of legumes and other rotation crops

5 The role of rotation crops in suppressing weeds, diseases and pests

6 Rotations and crop yields

7 Designing a crop rotation

8 Measuring and modelling crop rotations, nutrient and humus balances

9 Crop rotations on stockless farms

10 Conclusion and future trends

11 Where to look for further information

12 References and further reading

Chapter 3 - Modeling crop rotations: capturing short- and long-term feedbacks for sustainability and soil health: B. Basso and R. A. Martinez-Feria, Michigan State University, USA; and B. Dumont, University of Liege, Belgium;

1 Introduction

2 Reset mode crop models: the example of mitigating nitrate loss from corn-based crop rotations

3 Sequential crop models: the example of adapting crop rotations to sustain yields and soil health under climate change

4 Conclusion: improving crop rotations through modeling

5 References

Chapter 4 - Developing decision-support systems for crop rotations: Zia Mehrabi, University of British Columbia, Canada;

1 Introduction

2 Key information challenges

3 Ecological theory

4 Agronomic models

5 Encoding farmer decisions

6 Design principles

7 Outlook

8 Where to look for further information

9 References

Chapter 5 - The role of crop rotation, intercropping and tillage practices for foliar disease management of wheat and barley: T. K. Turkington, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Canada; K. Xi, Alberta Agriculture and Forestry, Canada; and H. R. Kutcher, University of Saskatchewan, Canada;

1 Introduction

2 Increasing temporal diversity: crop rotation

3 Increasing spatial diversity: intercropping

4 Increasing genetic diversity: gene deployment

5 The role of conservation tillage

6 Conclusions and future trends

7 Where to look for further information

8 References