Fallow_field_by_Coldharbour_Lane_-_geograph

Fallow is a farming technique in which arable land is left without

sowing Sowing is the process of planting seeds. An area or object that has had seeds planted in it will be described as a sowed or sown area. Plants which are usually sown Among the major field crops, oats, wheat, and rye are sown, grasses and leg ...

for one or more vegetative cycles. The goal of fallowing is to allow the land to recover and store

organic matter Organic matter, organic material, or natural organic matter refers to the large source of carbon-based compounds found within natural and engineered, terrestrial, and aquatic environments. It is matter composed of organic compounds that have c ...

while retaining moisture and disrupting pest life cycles and

soil borne pathogen A soil borne pathogen is a disease-causing agent which lives both in soil and in a plant host, and which will tend to infect undiseased plants which are grown in that soil. Common soil borne pathogens include ''Fusarium'', ''Pythium'', ''Rhizoctoni ...

s by temporarily removing their

hosts A host is a person responsible for guests at an event or for providing hospitality during it. Host may also refer to: Places *Host, Pennsylvania, a village in Berks County People *Jim Host (born 1937), American businessman *Michel Host ( ...

. Crop rotation systems typically called for some of a farmer's fields to be left fallow each year. The increase in intensive farming, including the use of

cover crop In agriculture, cover crops are plants that are planted to cover the soil rather than for the purpose of being harvested. Cover crops manage soil erosion, soil fertility, soil quality, water, weeds, pests, diseases, biodiversity and wildlife i ...

s in lieu of fallow practices, has caused a loss of acreage of fallow land, as well as field margins, hedges, and wasteland. This has reduced biodiversity; fallows have been the primary habitat for farmland bird populations.

Fallow syndrome

Fallow syndrome is when a crop has insufficient nutrient uptake due to the lack of arbuscular mycorhizae (AM fungi) in the soil following a fallow period. Crops such as corn that are prone to fallow syndrome should not follow a period of fallow, but instead should follow a

which is a host for AM fungi, such as oats or other small grain crops. The presence of ''any'' plant roots, including weeds, can reduce occurrence of fallow syndrome. Nowadays, agricultural fields are routinely planted with cover crops to prevent erosion, keep down weeds, provide a

green manure In agriculture, a green manure is a crop specifically produced to be incorporated into the soil while still green. Typically, the green manure's biomass is incorporated with a plow or disk, as is often done with (brown) manure. The primary goal ...

, and reduce the risk of fallow syndrome.How to prevent fallow syndrome in corn
Minnesota Crop News, March 16, 2020

References

Rural geography {{Agri-stub

Fallow syndrome

See also

References