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What Is Crop Production Management?
Crop production management refers to the various processes applied toward the effective cultivation and harvesting of crops. Such a management system usually includes considerations regarding the selection of the crop to plant, the preparation of the land where the crop will be planted, the application of fertilizers and pesticides, and other practices aimed at improving crop yields like irrigation. These practices may be vary slightly depending on the type of crop under consideration due to the fact that different types of crops grow at different rates and are subject to different growing conditions and attacks by insects and diseases.
One of the first considerations in crop production management is of the determination of the type of crop to be planted in the designated land. The reason why this is important is because different crops require specific growing conditions, meaning that crops that do well in certain types of soil will not prosper when they are cultivated in other types of soil. Also, the climate plays an important role in the growth of crops, dictating the type of crops that can be successfully cultivated in different geographical areas. After the crop has been selected and the land has been prepared by tilling, the crop will be planted according to the specifications for planting such a crop, including the observation of the proper spacing between individual plants.
In order for crops to grow very well, it may be necessary to apply some form of fertilizer as a nutrient boost. This aspect of crop production management is also one that requires a careful analysis of the type of crop in relation to the kind of fertilizer that may be applied to that particular crop. The reason for this is because there are specific fertilizers for different crops, and there are specific types that may be used at various stages of plant growth. Apart from the application of fertilizers, pest management must be included in crop production management. This will require the application of pesticides that target the particular pest for that particular crop.
Effective crop production management also requires the constant removal of weeds from the land since they tend to proliferate very fast and compete with legitimate crop. Other considerations include the practice of irrigation as a means of providing moisture when this is an issue. The proper harvesting of such a crop and the storage of the same will also be a part of crop management.
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![Crop production management can apply to the effective harvesting of crops such as corn.]()
By: Dusan KosticCrop production management can apply to the effective harvesting of crops such as corn. -
![Careful fertilizer use is part of crop production management.]()
By: Sinisa BotasCareful fertilizer use is part of crop production management. -
![Knowledgeable crop management is evident at harvest time.]()
By: Dusan KosticKnowledgeable crop management is evident at harvest time. -
![Pesticides can protect crops from bug infestation.]()
By: il-fedePesticides can protect crops from bug infestation. -
![Crops that do well in one type of soil may not prosper when planted in other soil types.]()
By: Johan LarsonCrops that do well in one type of soil may not prosper when planted in other soil types.
Discussion Comments
Crop management is something that people need to do at home as well. Even if you've only got a small vegetable garden, you need to take into account the fact that it's a bad idea to grow the same kinds of plants in the same soil year after year.
If you do, they tend to build up diseases and the soil gets exhausted. You're much better off either rotating them, or spacing them out rather than growing all the same kind of plant in the same spot.
Neatness isn't necessarily a virtue when it comes to vegetables and mixing up your patch can make it much healthier, since it will confuse any pests and will ensure that no one spot in your garden ends up with the same kind of plant year after year.
@pleonasm - That's true of some farmers, but with the organic movement becoming stronger, I'm hoping that crop management is going to become better as they embrace permaculture rather than the mass cropping techniques used at the moment.
The only problem is that instead of actually trying to go with the spirit of being organic, a lot of farmers are instead trying to get around the legalities of it, by either labeling their stuff organic when it isn't, or using practices that might as well not be organic, even if they are considered to be so.
This is the kind of job which is only going to be more important in the future. It really needs to be done differently, with an eye to maintaining production over the years, rather than the way it's often done now, which is to get the maximum yield every single time.
That's how ground gets worn out very quickly and you end up having to put more and more fertilizers onto it. Crop management should be treated as a complex process of interacting with local conditions and instead it becomes a matter of battling them with the goal of producing as much as possible.
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