Mixed cropping
Topic: Land Reforms, the Green Revolution and Farm Subsidies · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
Mixed cropping means growing two or more crops together on the same piece of land at the same time, without a definite row pattern. The seeds are often mixed and sown together. The main purpose is insurance. If one crop fails because of poor rain or pests, the other may survive, so the farmer does not lose everything. This makes it common among small farmers in rainfed areas, where crops depend only on rainfall.
Example
A farmer on dry land in Rajasthan sows wheat and gram (chickpea) mixed together in the rabi season, which is the winter crop season. If winter rain is poor and the wheat does badly, the hardier gram still gives some harvest.
Don't confuse with
- Intercropping: the crops are grown in a definite row pattern, so each can be managed and harvested separately. The aim is to make the best use of resources, not mainly to reduce risk.
- Crop rotation: different crops are grown one after another on the same land to keep the soil fertile. They are not grown at the same time.
Related concepts
- Crop rotation
- Intercropping
- Micro-irrigation
- Evergreen Revolution
- Second Green Revolution
- Gene Revolution
- Yield gap
- Precision farming
- Digital agriculture
- Custom hiring centre