Monoculture in ag involves the growing of a single crop using the majority or whole of the land. This method of farming is particularly popular in industrialized regions. This strategy benefits farmers as it allows reduced costs, but when a single variety of species is grown it can also endanger the farm to widespread crop failure.
The cultivating of monocultures is very much a modern method of agricultural production. Commercial modern agriculture has the primary aim of increasing yields and profits by cultivating one distinct crop.
The principle belief which monoculture farmers have is that by providing the individual needs for just a single species of crop it will be more efficient and profitable. By cultivating a single crop only one method of harvesting needs to take place, hence boosting profitability for the farmer.
A contrasting method to monoculture is permaculture. Permaculture is effectively a reversal in that it promotes biodiversity and the implantation of a diverse range of crops.
This method of farming intends to ensure the ecosystem remains strong with different plants working together to thrive the land. Permaculture fundamentally aims to avoid having anything from becoming too influential on the farm to the detriment of other assets, be it species of insect or plant. Maintaining a diverse variety of crop species and growing a varied range of crops can save the potential jeopardizing of the entire economy.
A variety of crops will allow crop failures without ruining the entire economy of a farm specializing in a monoculture such as coffee or tobacco. While monoculture has its place for profitability, it also has significant negative drawbacks with potential to cause irreversible damage to the ecological system.
An example of the devastation monocultural farming can cause is the corn blight of which ruined more than 15 percent of corn crops in North America. With the lack of diversity in a monoculture system it can cause a limit to the healthy functions nature can bring to crops and soil.
By directing away from natural elements provided by the ecosystem, monoculture must replicate these to protect the crops and the profit they make. This involves the use of synthetic fertilizers, herbicides, insecticides, bactericides.
These synthetic chemicals attempt to prevent crop damage from weeds, insects, and bacteria while providing enough nutrients for growth. There are many negatives surrounding the use of synthetics, particularly for its relationship with nature. Chemicals leave traces on plants intended for consumption and are also regularly overused.
Excessive use means that a large quantity of synthetic material is left in the soil after harvest. Dynamite fishing 3. Muro-ami 5.
Oil spill. Sewerage pollution 4. The government is established for the furtherance and guarantees of certain inalienabale human rights. Education is not a preparation for life, it is life itself. At present, how many percent of the population of the Philippines are aliens? Bantay Kalikasan 2. Bantay Ilog 3. Bantay Dagat. Ecological Watch 5. Solid Waste Management. Which government agency does the status of government employees in the free voluntary services belong to? Secretary 3. Municipal 5. Regional 4.
Other crimes. Mitch is probably a pianist. She can really stretch her hand and fingers. Chris is a responsible man, He takes good care of his family. All flowers are fragrant. Some flowers are brightly colored. The gumamela is a kind of flower, the sabila is not a kind of flower. If fishes cannot breed, they will die. Coral reefs are the only breeding places of fishes.
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Monoculture planting maximizes the efficient use of soil and local climate conditions. In most cases, farmers select the crop that will thrive best in the local environment.
The positive effects of monoculture farming are often seen with such crops as rice grown in conditions similar to those of wetlands and wheat which is grown in flat areas with plenty of sunlight. Plants that can resist or thrive in specific weather conditions e. In contrast, a traditional farmer is concerned with crop variety and implements a complex schedule of planting, maintenance, and harvesting to maximize the production of different crops.
Despite this increased effort, the productivity and efficiency of monoculture farming is usually higher. When growing monoculture crops, agrarians tend to have some extra time and financial resources to refer to new technologies in agriculture helping them to maximize their agricultural performance. Among the newest technical solutions in the service of farmers are drones , ground sensors, and satellite-derived data.
One of the most innovative and comprehensive technologies in this matter are satellite tools that are used for a complex monitoring of specific fields and management of all the stages of sowing and growing crops on them.
A bright example of such new technologies is the EOS Crop Monitoring software, which is a high-performance tool that assists farmers with their day-to-day activities both on large and small farmlands in any corner of the globe. Fields analytics tool with access to high-resolution satellite images for remote problem areas identification! Industrial monoculture planting allows farmers to specialize in a particular crop, as they usually deal with the same issues and problems that may arise in the process of growing.
The advantage of such specialization is that it increases profits and reduces costs , given that no additional machinery or other resources are required except for those needed to work with this specific kind of crop. Moreover, when a single crop is cultivated in a field, it is easier to conduct a satellite monitoring of its health and development.
Also, these vegetation indices correlate with the Growth Stages feature in Crop Monitoring, which is specific for each crop. Some types of crops, such as cereals for example, are deemed to have better yields when sown and grown as monocultures, i. However, such maximization of yields with monoculture planting can only be achieved on the condition of yearly rotation of at least two different crops on the given farmland. In this regard, it is also worth noting that with the EOS Crop Monitoring software farmers can generate productivity maps to identify the field plots with better performance.
Such productivity maps allow farmers to plant their seeds with greater precision that potentially will result in higher yields. Cultivating monoculture crops is easier as compared to polyculture ones.
This relative simplicity in monoculture farming is explained by the fact that growing only one kind of a crop demands less efforts, knowledge, and resources than cultivating various sorts of plants.
For example, monoculture planting requires less machinery for soil preparation or harvesting, while growing various crops at a time requires different types of machines.
The same is true for irrigation and pest control. By growing monoculture plants, farmers usually benefit from higher profits. For example, cultivating a single kind of crop that is best suited to development in specific climate conditions, allows the farmer to get better yields and, therefore, get higher income.
Farmers who stick to monoculture farming face more difficulties in terms of struggling with pest infestations on their field. Pests are most prolific on farmlands having only one single kind of crop grown on them year after year. Also, in the context of protection from field parasites, monoculture planting lacks some important aspect that polyculture farming can boast of — genetic diversity of plants.
Polyculture, for example, may provide for some types of plants on the field that repel pests. Such plants thus serve as a natural barrier to development of pest infestations on farmlands. Monoculture crops are more likely to be affected by blight or pests, as these threats can move faster through the area due to its reduced biodiversity. In response, farmers apply greater amounts of pesticides and herbicides to protect the crop. These chemicals seep into the ground, contaminating both the soil and the groundwater.
Moreover, monoculture farms tend to intensify even more the use of pesticides , as some kinds of pests survive the use of chemicals by developing resistance to them. Later, these parasites pass this newly acquired immunity to their offspring which, in their turn, will proliferate on the given field plot even more, as their main source of food keeps staying in one place. Agricultural monoculture upsets the natural balance of soils.
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