Effects of Crop Rotation and Continuous Cropping on Soil Health and Crop Yields

A special issue of Agriculture (ISSN 2077-0472). This special issue belongs to the section "Agricultural Systems and Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 May 2025 | Viewed by 799

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Guest Editor
Department of Agroecosystems and Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Plac Łódzki 3, 10-718 Olsztyn, Poland
Interests: cropping systems; intercropping; weed ecology; weed–crop interactions; agricultural biodiversity; recycled fertilizers

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Agroecosystems and Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Plac Łódzki 3, 10-718 Olsztyn, Poland
Interests: agroecology; cropping systems; phosphorus; recycled fertilizers; agroecosystem biodiversity; intercropping; weed ecology; weed–crop interactions; plant protection methods
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Dear Colleagues,

Understanding changes in the biotic and abiotic components of the agroecosystem under cultivation practices is crucial to solving both food and environmental problems. Increasing crop production to feed a growing population requires a more efficient use of the potential of the agricultural production area, which is possible with a sound management of this potential. In this context, there is growing interest in crop rotation as a yield-enhancing factor, and continuous cropping with its negative effects needs thorough assessment. This approach also serves to protect the soil environment.

This Special Issue aims to bring together the latest research on the importance of cropping systems: crop rotation and continuous cropping. Reviews and opinion papers are also welcome. Articles may include, but are not limited to, the following topics: evaluation of the response of plant species to continuous cropping; quality and quantity of crop residues; changes in soil properties; diversity of soil microorganisms; beneficial and harmful organisms in soil; weed infestations; fungal pathogens and plant health; and protective treatments to limit negative effects.

We hope that this Special Issue will present the current agricultural practices of crop sequencing used in different countries and regions of the world and their multifaceted effects.

Dr. Marta Katarzyna Kostrzewska
Dr. Magdalena Jastrzębska
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • crop rotation and continuous cropping
  • quantity and quality of crop yields
  • organic matter
  • physical and chemical properties of soil
  • soil microbiological activity
  • soil edaphone
  • pathogenic fungi
  • weeds
  • allelopathy
  • factors mitigating negative effects

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Research

11 pages, 225 KiB  
Article
Response of Winter Wheat to 35-Year Cereal Monoculture
by Andrzej Woźniak and Małgorzata Haliniarz
Agriculture 2025, 15(5), 489; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture15050489 - 25 Feb 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 445
Abstract
A field experiment aimed to evaluate grain yield and grain quality of winter wheat cultivated in a 35-year cereal monoculture and three soil tillage systems (TSs). Winter wheat grown in the plot after common pea (PS) served as the control. In the monoculture [...] Read more.
A field experiment aimed to evaluate grain yield and grain quality of winter wheat cultivated in a 35-year cereal monoculture and three soil tillage systems (TSs). Winter wheat grown in the plot after common pea (PS) served as the control. In the monoculture (MON) and on PS plots, winter wheat was sown in the conventional (CT), reduced (RT), and no-tillage (NT) systems. In the CT system, shallow plowing was applied after the previous crop harvest, followed by pre-sow plowing. In the RT system, a cultivator was used, and the pre-sow plowing was replaced with a pre-sowing set. In turn, in the NT system, the soil was treated with glyphosate and cultivated using a pre-sowing cultivation set. Winter wheat produced over 2-fold higher grain yield on the PS plot than in the MON as well as in the CT than in the RT and NT systems. In turn, the plant number after emergence was differentiated only by the cropping system (CS). On the PS plots, the number of plants after emergence was 15.6% higher, and the spike number was 50.5% higher than on the MON plots. Also, more spikes per m2 were found on the CT than on the RT and NT plots. Similarly, the grain weight per spike and the 1000 grain weight were higher on the PS plots compared to the MON plots as well as in the CT than in the RT and NT systems. The evaluation of the variance analysis components shows that the grain yield, plant number after emergence, spike number, grain number per spike, and 1000 grain weight were more strongly influenced by CS than by TS. Grain quality, expressed by the contents of total protein, wet gluten, and starch, as well as by Zeleny’s sedimentation index and grain uniformity index, were affected to a greater extent by CS than TS and reached higher values in the grain harvested from the PS plot compared to MON. Full article
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