Some terminologies

Farming system: Farming system represents an appropriate combination of farm enterprises viz. cropping system, livestock, poultry, fisheries, forestry and the means available to the farmer to raise them for increasing profitability.

Cropping system: Cropping system is a land use unit comprising soils, crop, weed, pathogen and insect subsystems that transform solar energy, water, nutrients, labour and other inputs into food, feed, fuel and fibre.

Sole cropping: Sole cropping is a type of cropping system in which single crop or variety is grown alone in pure stands at normal density, for instance transplanted rice, jute, tobacco, oats, rice bean etc.

Monoculture: Monoculture or monocropping is the repetitive growing of the same crop on the same piece of land year after year.

Cropping pattern: The yearly sequence and spatial arrangement of crops and fallow on a given area is known as cropping pattern. For example Rice-wheat-maize is a cereal based cropping pattern of inner terai areas of Nepal.

Multiple cropping: Multiple cropping refers to growing of two or more crops on the same piece of land in one calendar year is known as multiple cropping.

Sequential cropping: It refers to growing of two or more crops in sequence on the same field per year. The following cropping patterns are included in sequential cropping.

i) Double cropping: growing two crops a year in sequence.

ii) Triple cropping: growing three crops a year in sequence.

iii) Quadruple cropping: growing four crops a year in sequence.

iv) Ratoon cropping: The cultivation of crop regrowth after harvest of previous crop e.g. sugarcane.

Inter cropping: Intercropping is the cultivation of two or more crops simultaneously on the same land with a definite row pattern.

Mixed cropping: Growing two or more crops simultaneously with no distinct row arrangement.

Relay cropping: Growing two or more crops simultaneously during part of the life cycle of each. A second crop is planted after the first crop has reached its reproductive stage of growth but before it is ready for harvest e.g. Wheat in standing potato, finger millet in standing maize, lentil in standing rice.

Crop rotation: Crop rotation is defined as a process of growing different crops in succession on a piece of land in a specific period of time, with an object to get maximum profit from least investment without impairing the soil fertility.