In
agricultureAgriculture is the production of food and goods through farming and forestry. Agriculture was the key development that led to the rise of human civilization, with the husbandry of domesticated animals and plants creating food surpluses that enabled the development of more densely populated and...
,
multiple cropping is the practice of growing two or more
cropsAgriculture is the production of food and goods through farming and forestry. Agriculture was the key development that led to the rise of human civilization, with the husbandry of domesticated animals and plants creating food surpluses that enabled the development of more densely populated and...
in the same space during a single
growing seasonIn agriculture, the growing season is the period of each year when crops can be grown. It is usually determined by climate and crop selection. Depending on the location, temperature, daylight hours , and rainfall, may all be critical environmental factors.In the northern U.S...
. It is a form of
polyculturePolyculture is agriculture using multiple crops in the same space, in imitation of the diversity of natural ecosystems, and avoiding large stands of single crops, or monoculture...
. It can take the form of
double-cropping, in which a second crop is planted after the first has been harvested, or
relay cropping, in which the second crop is started amidst the first crop before it has been harvested. A related practice,
companion plantingCompanion planting is the planting of different crops in close physical proximity , on the theory that they assist each other in nutrient uptake, pest control, pollination, and other factors necessary to increasing crop productivity.Although there is a wealth of information on its historic use,...
, is sometimes used in
gardeningGardening is the practice of growing ornamental or useful plants. Ornamental plants are normally grown for their flowers, foliage, or overall appearance. Useful plants may be grown for consumption or for a variety of other purposes, such as medicines or dyes...
and intensive cultivation of vegetables and fruits. One example of multi-cropping is tomatoes + onions + marigold; the marigolds repel some tomato pests.
Multiple cropping is found in many agricultural traditions. In the Garhwal Himalaya of
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
, a practice called
baranaja involves sowing 12 or more crops on the same plot, including various types of
beanBean is a common name for large plant seeds of several genera of the family Fabaceae used for human food or animal feed....
s,
gramThe gram , ; symbol g, is a unit of mass.Originally defined as "the absolute weight of a volume of pure water equal to the cube of the hundredth part of a metre, and at the temperature of melting ice" , a gram is now defined as one one-thousandth of the SI base unit, the kilogram, or...
s, and
milletThe millets are a group of small-seeded species of cereal crops or grains, widely grown around the world for food and fodder. They do not form a taxonomic group, but rather a functional or agronomic one. Their essential similarities are that they are small-seeded grasses grown in difficult...
s, and harvesting them at different times.
In the cultivation of
riceRice is the seed of a monocot plant Oryza sativa, of the grass family . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East, South, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, and the West Indies...
, multiple cropping requires effective
irrigationIrrigation is an artificial application of water to the soil. It is usually used to assist in growing crops in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall...
, especially in areas with a
dry seasonThe dry season is a term commonly used when describing the weather in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which oscillates from the northern to the southern tropics over the course of the year...
.
RainRain is liquid precipitation, as opposed to other kinds of precipitation such as snow, hail and sleet. On Earth, it is the condensation of atmospheric water vapor into drops heavy enough to fall, often making it to the surface...
that falls during the
wet seasonThe wet season, or rainy season, is the time of year, covering one or more months, when most of the average annual rainfall in a region falls. The term green season is also sometimes used as a euphemism by tourist authorities. Areas with wet seasons are dispersed across portions of the tropics...
permits the cultivation of rice during that period, but during the other half of the year, water cannot be channeled into the rice fields without an irrigation system. The
Green RevolutionGreen Revolution refers to the transformation of agriculture that began in 1945. One significant factor in this revolution was the Mexican government's request to establish an agricultural research station to develop more varieties of wheat that could be used to feed the rapidly growing population...
in
AsiaAsia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.6% of the earth's total surface area and with approximately 4 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population.Asia is traditionally defined as part of the...
led to the development of high-yield varieties of rice, which required a substantially shorter growing season of 100 days, as opposed to traditional varieties, which needed 150 to 180 days. Due to this, multiple cropping became more prevalent in Asian countries.
One kind of multiple cropping is
intercroppingIntercropping is the agricultural practice of cultivating two or more crops in the same space at the same time . A practice often associated with sustainable agriculture and organic farming, intercropping is one form of polyculture, using companion planting principles...
, where an additional crop is planted in the spaces available between the main crop.