Cropping Pattern, Cropping System & Farming Systems
Cropping Pattern, Cropping System and Farming System are three terms representing three different concepts in agriculture. They are generally used interchangeably.
Cropping Pattern
Cropping Pattern refers to three different arrangements of crops cultivated in farms viz. yearly sequence of crops; spatial arrangement of crops; and crops and fallow in a particular field. In other words, cropping pattern is the proportion of total cropped area allocated to different crops. The cropping pattern depends on farmers’ decisions governed by various factors such as productivity, expected profit, input resources etc.
Examples of Cropping Patterns
Monoculture is a cropping pattern which involves cropping same crop on a parcel of land every year. Multiple cropping is a cropping pattern of growing two or more crops in the same piece of land in different growing seasons.
Similarly, mixed cropping is a cropping pattern in which two or more crops are grown simultaneously and intermingled without row arrangements.
Cropping System
Cropping System is a broader term comprising the crops and cropping pattern along with their interaction with other agricultural components such as resources, machinery, technologies, environment etc.
Examples of Cropping Systems
When we discuss a cropping pattern along with inputs / resources etc, we would be actually discussing a cropping system. Thus, monoculture is a crop pattern as well as a cropping system when we include the fertilizer in it to be used every year.
Similarly, mixed cropping of cereals with other cereals or other crops is a cropping pattern as well as cropping system. For example, rice based cropping system can be rice-rice, rice-wheat and rice-legumes.
Farming System
Farming system represents the crops, cropping systems as well as other agriculture related enterprises such as animal husbandry, fisheries etc for optimally utilization of the available resources and maximising the remuneration. It also takes into consideration the crop residues recycling in the farm.
Examples of Farming Systems
Some examples of farming systems include irrigation farming; dry farming, wetland agriculture, mixed farming, shifting agriculture, Ley farming etc.
In recent times, cropping system and farming system words are is used to denote a system approach which incorporates the integrated nutrient management, integrated pest management, climate resilient agriculture, sustainability, soil health and so on.
