Unlocking Myths of Crop Yield

Increasing crop yields is a need for all farmers, researchers and development agencies in agriculture. Intensification of crop production does it through efficient and sustainable cropping systems; the focus of this book. Topics covered include difference between farming and cropping systems; requirements of stable cropping systems; factors that make cropping systems sustainable; limits of monocultures and tenets of multiple cropping; design and examples of crop rotations; advantages and biological basis of yield benefits of intercrops; case studies on intercropping research; double cropping; sustainable agroforestry practices; ecological agriculture including use of cover crops, green manures, crop residues, integration of livestock and integrated nutrient management; ratoon and relay cropping, ley farming and zero grazing; conventional tillage and zero tillage or conservation tillage; elements of integrated pest management and IPM packages and informal seed supply systems. The book is targeted at students of agriculture and related land use systems, policy makers and all professionals involved in agricultural development.