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The Dutch four-field rotation system was popularised by the British agriculturist Charles Townshend in the 18th century. The system (wheat, turnips, barley and clover) opened up a fodder crop and grazing crop allowing livestock to be bred year-round. The use of clover was especially important as the legume roots replenished soil nitrates. [169]
Different types of tillage result in varying amounts of crop residue being incorporated into the soil profile. Conventional or intensive tillage typically leaves less than 15% of crop residues on a field, reduced tillage leaves 15–30%, and conservation tillage systems leave at least 30% on the soil surface. [10]
5500 BC – Céide Fields in Ireland are the oldest known field systems in the world, this landscape consists of extensive tracts of land enclosed by brick walls. [3] 5200 BC – In the heart of the Sahara Desert, several native species were domesticated, most importantly pearl millet, sorghum and cowpeas, which spread through West Africa and ...
Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. [1] Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to live in the cities.
Crop rotations also affect the timing and length of when a field is subject to fallow. [37] This is very important because depending on a particular region's climate, a field could be the most vulnerable to erosion when it is under fallow. Efficient fallow management is an essential part of reducing erosion in a crop rotation system.
With more crops available to sell and agriculture dominating the economy at the time, the three-field system created a significant surplus and increased economic prosperity. [3] The three-field system needed more plowing of land and its introduction coincided with the adoption of the moldboard plow. These parallel developments complemented each ...
Later they employed a three-year, three field crop rotation routine, with a different crop in each of two fields, e.g. oats, rye, wheat, and barley with the second field growing a legume like peas or beans, and the third field fallow. Normally from 10% to 30% of the arable land in a three crop rotation system is fallow. Each field was rotated ...
After 1800, cotton became the chief crop in southern plantations, and the chief American export. After 1840, industrialization and urbanization opened up lucrative domestic markets. The number of farms grew from 1.4 million in 1850, to 4.0 million in 1880, and 6.4 million in 1910; then started to fall, dropping to 5.6 million in 1950 and 2.2 ...