Crop rotation is the practice of growing different crops in turns in various plots on the same field.
The farmer demarcates his field into a number of plots and keeps planting different crops in rotation.
Crop rotation breaks up the lifecycle of many pests. Besides that, different crops have varying soil nutrient demands. Crop rotation is one good way of controlling pests.
Growing plants with different growth habits alternately facilitates maximum usage of soil resources.
Some crops, particularly legumes, add nutrients such as nitrogen to the soil which means that a farmer keen on sustaining good soil fertility should practice crop rotation by planting nitrogen fixing crops such as beans where non-nitrogen fixing crops such as millet have been growing.
When some crops that are not easy to weed such as millet are made to alternate with easy to weed crops such as beans difficult weeds tend to reduce.
Crop rotation is however not by itself the most efficient method of fighting pests, soil infertility, or increasing crop production. The farmer will still do well to apply fertilizers once in a while and to use pesticides and fungicides.
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