Increasing Crop Yield
Carrying out the basic agricultural practices systematically can substantially increase crop yield. Techniques like mixed cultivation and crop rotation can increase crop yield further.
Mixed cultivation
In this type of cultivation, two or more different types of crops are sown in a particular field at the same time. The crops chosen are such that the nutrient needs of one crop are fulfilled by the other. For example, a leguminous plant (i.e., a plant having seeds in long pods) like pea can be grown in the same field, along with a cereal like wheat.
Crop rotation
The practice of growing two or more dissimilar crops in the same field, one after the other, is called crop rotation. This is done keeping in mind the nutrient requirements of a particular crop. For example, crops like wheat and paddy use up a lot of nitrogen from the soil. This lost nitrogen can be replaced naturally if leguminous plants like pea, soya bean, or green beans are sown after wheat or paddy.
Leguminous plants have special kind of bacteria in their roots that help in restoring the nitrogen content of the soil. This is done by a process called nitrogen fixation.