science

Multiple cropping

Multiple cropping is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Multiple cropping rather than just read about it. In short: In agriculture, multiple cropping or multicropping is the practice of growing two or more crops in the same piece of land during one year, instead of just one crop. When multiple crops are grown simultaneously, this is also known as intercropping.

Key takeaways

Multiple cropping belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Multiple cropping to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Multiple cropping from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

In agriculture, multiple cropping or multicropping is the practice of growing two or more crops in the same piece of land during one year, instead of just one crop. When multiple crops are grown simultaneously, this is also known as intercropping. This cropping system helps farmers to double their crop productivity and their income. But, the selection of two or more crops for practicing multicropping mainly depends on the mutual benefit of the selected crops. Threshing can be difficult in multiple cropping systems where crops are harvested together. It can take the form of double-cropping, in which a second crop is planted after the first has been harvested. In the Garhwal Himalaya of India, a practice called barahnaja involves sowing 12 or more crops on the same plot, including various types of beans, grains, and millets, and harvesting them at different times.

Benefits of multiple cropping Adopting the practice of multiple cropping on a large scale can help in reducing the food crisis of a nation. Overall costs of input decreases, cost spent on fertilizers, irrigation, labour, etc. reduces because of growing two or more than two crops on the same field. Risk of weed growth, pest and disease infestation reduces because of mutual relationship within the crop. This results in better farm management and increased income of the farmer. However, only 5% of global rainfed cropland is under multiple cropping, while 40% of global irrigated cropland is under multiple cropping. In China, the land reform movement and collectivization of farming facilitated double-cropping in the south of the country, leading to a major increase in agricultural yields.

See also Forest gardening Intercropping Nurse crop Succession planting

References

External links Improving nutrition through home gardening Home Garden Technology Leaflet 12: Multiple cropping, FAO, 2001

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Multiple cropping

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Multiple cropping claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Multiple cropping before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Multiple cropping ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Multiple cropping

In research: Multiple cropping appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Multiple cropping in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Multiple cropping is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Agriculture stubs, Agronomy, Crops, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Multiple cropping outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Multiple cropping in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Multiple cropping means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Multiple cropping out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Multiple cropping in simple terms?

Why does Multiple cropping matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Multiple cropping?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Multiple cropping.