A properly managed crop rotation can yield many benefits, says an agronomist with Reduced Tillage in Lethbridge: good economics; improved soil conservation; lower-cost weed control and reduced greenhouse gas emissions.
“With increased interest in zero tillage and continuous cropping, we’re finding a proper crop sequence is important to making the systems work,” Don Wentz said.
“Some people can get by with wheat on wheat or canola on canola for awhile, but monoculture systems aren’t sustainable. Monoculture cropping systems increase the risk of crop diseases, insect pests and even tougher weed control issues.”
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While rotating crops isn’t a new concept for many producers, it takes planning to manage the right sequence for today’s farms. Many producers have already discovered that including a pulse crop in rotation provides several benefits. As a commodity, dryland peas are marketable and because they are a nitrogen-fixing legume, they can help reduce fertilizer costs in subsequent years.
However, producers need to carefully consider where peas fit in their crop rotations.
“Peas and some oilseeds are host to similar diseases such as sclerotinia and neither peas nor oilseeds produce large amounts of crop residue,” Wentz said.
In Alberta’s brown soil zone, oilseeds-cereals-pulse-cereals can make a good four-year rotation.
Timing can also be an important weed weapon when planning a proper crop rotation. Growing different crops with different seeding dates changes the herbicide schedule and keeps weeds off balance, Wentz said. The changing schedule means more effective weed control and the crop mix also allows for herbicide rotation.
“While it sounds easy, trying to schedule four or five crops in proper sequence over several thousand acres takes a lot of management.
“It’s a complex task. Still, more producers are realizing the benefit of a proper rotation. It has to make economic sense. But as stewards of the land, producers also want to protect and enhance soil as a resource.”
