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Fallow

Fallow is an agricultural practice in which arable land is intentionally left unseeded and uncropped for one or more growing seasons, allowing the soil to recover fertility, accumulate moisture, and break cycles of pests and weeds through cultivation or chemical control.^[1] This method, often integrated into crop rotation systems, contrasts with continuous cropping by providing a rest period that enhances long-term soil health and productivity, particularly in regions with limited rainfall or nutrient-depleted soils.^[2] The practice of fallowing traces its origins to ancient Mediterranean agriculture, where it was used to restore land depleted by intensive cultivation, and became formalized in Roman crop rotation systems featuring sequences of food, feed, and fallow periods.^[3] By the medieval period in Europe, the three-field system allocated one-third of arable land to fallow annually, balancing production with soil recovery and contributing to agricultural stability until the Agricultural Revolution introduced more intensive rotations like the four-field system, which reduced but did not eliminate fallow use.^[4]^[3] In the 19th and 20th centuries, fallowing expanded in semi-arid regions of North America, such as the Great Plains, as "black fallow" techniques— involving repeated tillage to create a dust mulch—gained prominence for moisture conservation in dryland wheat farming.^[2] Key types of fallow include bare fallow, where the land is kept weed-free through mechanical tillage or herbicides without any plant cover, and green fallow, which incorporates non-harvested cover crops like legumes to actively improve soil nitrogen and organic matter while minimizing erosion.^[1] Benefits encompass nutrient mineralization, enhanced microbial activity, weed and pest suppression, and yield stabilization in subsequent crops, though excessive fallowing can lead to soil degradation if not managed sustainably.^[2] In contemporary agriculture, fallow remains vital in water-scarce areas but is increasingly supplemented or replaced by diversified rotations involving pulses or cover crops to promote environmental resilience and reduce economic risks.^[5] As of 2025, concerns over dust emissions from fallow fields, particularly in California, have accelerated adoption of sustainable alternatives.^[6]

Etymology and Definition

Origin of the Term

The term "fallow" in its agricultural sense derives from Old English fealh, referring to untilled or plowed land left idle, which traces back via Proto-West Germanic *falgu to Proto-Germanic *felgô, denoting harrowed or plowed ground. This root is linked to related terms in other Germanic languages, such as Old High German felga (harrow), emphasizing the preparatory breaking of earth rather than active cultivation.^[7]^[8] In Middle English, the word evolved into falawe or falwe, retaining its meaning of land rested from cropping to restore fertility, as seen in agricultural treatises from the 14th century onward.^[9] Early literary references appear in 14th-century English texts, including works influenced by agrarian life, where "fallow" describes fields left unsown during crop rotations, marking a shift toward more systematic farming descriptions in vernacular literature. By the late Middle English period, the term had standardized in its modern form, appearing in writings on estate management and husbandry that reflect the growing emphasis on soil conservation practices.^[8] Comparatively, Roman agronomy texts from the 1st century AD, such as Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella's De Re Rustica, employ equivalent concepts using Latin terms like novale (newly plowed or fallow land) and vervactum (summer-fallowed ground), which describe similar practices of resting soil to control weeds and enhance productivity.^[10] Columella advocates for biennial or triennial fallowing in his detailed guidelines on arable farming, paralleling the Germanic linguistic evolution by focusing on the land's idle state post-plowing.^[11] These Roman precedents influenced later European agricultural terminology, bridging classical and medieval understandings of soil management without direct lexical borrowing into English.

Core Principles

In agriculture, fallow refers to a deliberate period of non-cultivation of arable land, during which no crops are planted, allowing the soil to recover its nutrients, structure, and moisture content following intensive cropping cycles.^[1] This practice is integrated into crop rotation systems to maintain long-term soil productivity, with the land typically left idle for one to two years before resuming cultivation.^[12] Unlike land abandonment, which involves unintended and often permanent disuse leading to uncontrolled succession or degradation, fallow is a managed, temporary strategy aimed at sustainable land use.^[13] The core mechanisms of fallow revolve around natural ecological processes that replenish soil health without human intervention beyond basic weed control. Organic matter accumulates through the growth and decomposition of spontaneous vegetation or controlled weeds, enhancing soil structure and fertility by increasing microbial activity and humus content.^[14] In variants such as improved or green fallow, nitrogen fixation occurs via leguminous plants that symbiotically capture atmospheric nitrogen, directly boosting soil nutrient levels for subsequent crops.^[15] Additionally, the rest period facilitates moisture conservation by reducing evapotranspiration and allowing rainfall to infiltrate and recharge soil profiles, particularly in semi-arid regions.^[16] Fallow also mitigates soil erosion by permitting vegetative cover to stabilize the surface during the idle phase, thereby protecting against wind and water runoff that could otherwise deplete topsoil.^[17] These processes collectively break cycles of nutrient depletion and compaction from continuous cropping, promoting a balanced soil ecosystem essential for resilient agricultural systems.^[1]

Historical Development

Early Agricultural Use

The practice of fallowing land emerged in the Neolithic period around 8000 BCE in the Fertile Crescent, where early farmers employed slash-and-burn techniques to clear vegetation for cultivation of crops such as wheat and barley.^[18] In this system, small plots were burned to enrich soil with ash, cultivated intensively for a few years until fertility declined, and then abandoned for extended rest periods—early fallow-like practices that allowed natural regeneration through weed growth and nutrient accumulation, preventing complete soil exhaustion in shifting cultivation.^[19] These rests, often lasting several years, reflected the core principle of soil recovery to sustain long-term productivity without advanced tools or knowledge of crop rotation.^[18] By the 1st century BCE, Roman agricultural practices formalized the two-field system, as described by the scholar Marcus Terentius Varro in his work De Re Rustica. In this approach, arable land was divided into two equal parts: one sown with a primary crop like wheat during the growing season, while the other lay fallow, plowed periodically to control weeds and incorporate organic matter for fertility restoration.^[20] Varro advocated this alternation to maintain soil health amid intensive Mediterranean farming, emphasizing that fallow fields should be grazed lightly or manured to enhance recovery, thereby supporting consistent yields for grain and legumes essential to Roman estates.^[20] In medieval Europe, the three-field rotation system, incorporating annual fallow, became widespread by the 8th century CE, marking a significant advancement over earlier methods. Land was divided into three sections: one planted with winter crops like wheat or rye, another with spring crops such as oats, barley, or legumes, and the third left fallow to recover nutrients and reduce pest buildup through plowing and exposure. This innovation, originating in northern France and spreading across the continent, increased the proportion of land under cultivation from one-half to two-thirds, boosting overall productivity by approximately 33%.^[21]

Evolution in Crop Rotation Systems

The Norfolk four-course rotation, pioneered in 18th-century England by Charles Townshend, marked a pivotal advancement in integrating fallow periods into crop rotation systems. This system cycled wheat, turnips, barley, and clover across four fields, replacing the traditional bare fallow year with leguminous clover and root crops like turnips, which restored soil nutrients through nitrogen fixation and served as fodder. By eliminating the need for an extended fallow while preventing soil exhaustion, the rotation significantly boosted productivity in arable lands, enabling continuous cultivation without the productivity losses associated with older three-field systems.^[22]^[23] In the 19th and early 20th centuries, the advent of synthetic fertilizers further transformed fallow's role in industrialized agriculture, particularly following the Haber-Bosch process's commercialization around 1913, which enabled mass production of ammonia-based nitrogen fertilizers. This innovation allowed farmers to replenish soil nutrients chemically rather than relying on prolonged fallow periods for natural restoration, shortening or eliminating fallow in intensive rotations across Europe and North America. By the mid-20th century, synthetic inputs had reduced average fallow durations in wheat-fallow systems from years to months or none, supporting the Green Revolution's yield surges but shifting emphasis from restorative fallow to input-driven productivity.^[24]^[25] During the 20th century, ley farming emerged as a globally adopted adaptation of fallow in tropical regions of Africa and Asia, integrating short-term pastures or leys—typically 2-5 years of grass-legume cover—into crop rotations to enhance soil fertility and support livestock. In West Africa, colonial and post-independence programs from the 1930s onward promoted ley systems using species like Stylosanthes to combat soil degradation in savanna zones, allowing farmers to alternate maize or sorghum with grazing periods that fixed nitrogen and improved structure. Similarly, in Southeast Asia, ley farming gained traction in the 1950s-1970s through initiatives in countries like Indonesia and India, combining rice paddies with legume leys to sustain intensification amid population pressures, often increasing overall system yields by 20-30% through better nutrient cycling and erosion control.^[26]^[27]

Types and Methods

Bare Fallow

Bare fallow is a traditional agricultural practice in which arable land is left completely unseeded and subjected to periodic tillage to control weeds, without any crop cultivation, typically for a duration of one year. The process involves plowing the field initially after harvest, followed by multiple cultivations—often several times per growing season—using tools such as harrows or sweeps to disrupt weed germination and maintain a bare soil surface. This intensive mechanical intervention ensures no plant growth competes for soil resources, allowing the land to lie idle while focusing on weed suppression.^[28]^[29] Historically, bare fallow was a dominant method in medieval Europe, particularly within the three-field rotation system that emerged around the 8th century, where approximately one-third of arable land was dedicated to fallow each year to permit soil recovery. This approach marked a significant improvement over earlier two-field systems by reducing idle land from half to one-third, thereby increasing overall productivity. The practice was carried to early American colonies in the 17th and 18th centuries, where European settlers adapted bare fallow to clear and manage newly available lands, often integrating it into mixed farming rotations.^[30] In contemporary agriculture, bare fallow has become rare due to its association with accelerated soil erosion from repeated tillage, which exposes soil to wind and water degradation, especially on sloping or semi-arid terrains. Its use has declined sharply since the mid-20th century as conservation tillage and crop rotations gained favor to mitigate these risks. Today, it persists mainly in dryland farming regions like the US Great Plains, where wheat-fallow systems help store soil moisture for subsequent crops amid limited rainfall, though even there, alternatives are increasingly adopted to preserve soil health. As of 2025, adoption of alternatives continues, with USDA initiatives promoting diversified rotations to enhance resilience amid increasing drought risks.^[31]^[32]^[33]

Green and Improved Fallow

Green fallow involves the cultivation of non-harvestable cover crops during the traditional fallow period to suppress weeds, build soil biomass, and enhance overall land productivity.^[34] Common species include cereal rye (Secale cereale) and hairy vetch (Vicia villosa), often planted in mixtures to leverage the grass's soil-covering ability and the legume's nitrogen fixation.^[34] These crops are typically sown in the fall and terminated in spring, providing ground cover that reduces erosion and adds organic matter upon incorporation.^[35] This practice has been employed in semi-arid regions since the 19th century, particularly in North American dryland systems, where it helps conserve limited moisture while improving soil structure.^[36] Improved fallow extends the fallow duration to 2-5 years, incorporating nitrogen-fixing trees or shrubs to accelerate soil nutrient replenishment in degraded lands.^[37] Species such as Leucaena leucocephala are widely used in tropical agroforestry, where they fix up to 300 kg of nitrogen per hectare and contribute substantial leaf litter for organic matter.^[38] This approach emerged from research in the 1980s, focusing on genetic improvements and integration into smallholder systems to shorten recovery times compared to natural fallows.^[38] In regions like southern Mali and Southeast Asia, improved fallows with Leucaena have demonstrated enhanced maize yields post-rotation by restoring soil fertility more efficiently. Recent studies (2020-2025) emphasize integrating improved fallows with precision agriculture to optimize nitrogen use and adapt to changing climates.^[39]^[40] Key techniques for both green and improved fallow include no-till integration, where cover crops or tree residues are managed without plowing to preserve soil moisture and structure, and alley cropping, in which hedgerows of nitrogen-fixers like Leucaena are planted between crop rows.^[41]^[42] These methods reduce labor demands relative to bare fallow's intensive tillage, as they minimize soil disturbance and equipment passes while supporting concurrent cropping phases.^[43] For instance, no-till cover crops in semi-arid wheat systems have cut erosion by up to 3.7 times through residue retention.^[41]

Benefits to Agriculture

Soil Fertility Restoration

Fallow periods facilitate the restoration of soil fertility primarily through the accumulation of organic matter from the decomposition of weed residues and natural vegetation, which contributes to the formation of humus. This process enhances soil structure and increases the soil's capacity to retain water, as humus can hold up to 20 times its weight in water,^[44] significantly improving water retention in soils with elevated organic matter levels compared to continuously cropped lands.^[45] In no-till or reduced-till fallow systems, the limited disturbance allows surface residues to break down slowly, promoting stable humus buildup that sustains long-term soil health.^[46] Nutrient cycling during fallow involves natural mineralization processes where soil microbes convert organic compounds into plant-available forms, releasing essential elements such as phosphorus and potassium. This mineralization occurs as decomposing plant material and microbial biomass liberate inorganic phosphorus through enzymatic activity and solubilize potassium from clay minerals via organic acid production.^[47]^[48] In green fallow systems, where legumes are grown, symbiotic bacteria in root nodules fix atmospheric nitrogen at rates typically ranging from 50 to 200 kg per hectare annually, significantly replenishing soil nitrogen stocks without external inputs.^[49] These dynamics ensure a gradual release of nutrients, reducing leaching losses and preparing the soil for subsequent crops.^[50] Microbial activity flourishes during fallow, with earthworm populations often increasing substantially—sometimes doubling in number compared to intensively cropped fields—due to reduced disturbance and abundant organic residues. Earthworms enhance soil aeration by creating burrows, which improve oxygen diffusion, and facilitate nutrient distribution through their casts, which are enriched in available minerals and promote further microbial decomposition.^[51]^[52] This bioturbation not only mixes organic matter into deeper soil layers but also stimulates bacterial and fungal communities that drive mineralization, contributing to overall fertility restoration.^[53]

Pest and Disease Management

Fallow periods effectively disrupt the lifecycles of soil-borne pests and pathogens by depriving them of suitable host plants, leading to starvation and significant population declines. Bare fallow, in particular, starves nematodes such as root-knot species (Meloidogyne spp.), reducing their densities by 80 to 90% per year in weed-free fields over one to two years.^[54] Similarly, for fungal pathogens like Fusarium spp., which cause wilt diseases, a one- to two-year bare fallow can decrease inoculum levels by 75 to 93%, comparable to the effects of chemical fumigation in some systems.^[55] This absence of crops during fallow limits reproduction and survival, preventing buildup that would otherwise carry over to subsequent plantings. Weed suppression during fallow also contributes to reduced disease pressure, as weeds can serve as alternative hosts for pests and pathogens. In bare fallow systems, periodic tillage exposes and stimulates germination of weed seeds near the soil surface, but repeated cultivation kills emerging seedlings before they produce viable seeds, thereby depleting the weed seedbank over time.^[56] In contrast, green or improved fallow employs cover crops with allelopathic properties, such as sorghum (Sorghum bicolor), which release inhibitory chemicals like sorgoleone into the soil to suppress weed germination and growth without mechanical disturbance.^[57] These strategies not only control weeds but also minimize the spread of associated pests. Over the long term, incorporating fallow into crop rotations breaks the disease triangle—comprising susceptible host, virulent pathogen, and conducive environment—by removing the host component and interrupting pathogen lifecycles. For example, in wheat production, fallow periods prevent the polycyclic buildup of rust pathogens (Puccinia spp.), such as leaf rust (P. triticina), by eliminating green bridge hosts and reducing urediniospore inoculum that would otherwise infect successive crops.^[58] This integration enhances overall rotation efficacy, complementing soil fertility gains from organic matter accumulation during the fallow phase.

Challenges and Environmental Impacts

Fallow Syndrome

Fallow syndrome is a soil microbial disorder resulting from prolonged bare fallow periods, primarily affecting corn and soybean crops through impaired nutrient uptake and reduced growth. Symptoms include stunted plants, purple leaf discoloration indicative of phosphorus deficiency, light green foliage, poor root development, and uneven stands, even when soil tests show sufficient phosphorus levels. This condition was first systematically studied in the US Midwest during the mid-20th century, with key insights emerging from University of Minnesota research in the 1960s on corn responses to summer fallow, and further documented in the 1980s and 1990s amid regional floods and dryland farming practices in the Great Plains. Affected corn yields typically decline by about 15%, though losses can vary based on soil conditions and recovery potential.^[59]^[60]^[61] The disorder arises from a collapse in populations of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), symbiotic organisms that colonize plant roots to facilitate phosphorus and zinc absorption from soil. In bare fallow systems, the lack of living host plants starves AMF, causing spore and hyphal die-off, while intensive tillage mechanically destroys fungal structures and disrupts soil aggregates that protect them. This prevents effective symbiosis in subsequent crops, severely limiting nutrient access in the critical early growth stages; the effect is amplified in phosphorus-deficient or compacted soils where crops depend more heavily on AMF for uptake.^[59]^[60]^[61] Outbreaks intensified in the 2010s across the US Corn Belt, particularly after no-cover-crop rotations triggered by widespread flooding and prevented planting, such as the record 2019 wet spring that idled over 5 million acres in the Midwest. In these cases, corn fields showed markedly lower AMF colonization—e.g., 17-31% in May-July following 1993 floods versus 49-60% in non-flooded areas—translating to yield penalties of 10-20 bushels per acre and broader economic repercussions for producers through lost revenue and increased input costs. Soybeans exhibit milder symptoms due to lower AMF reliance, but the syndrome underscores vulnerabilities in bare fallow methods prevalent in the region.^[59]^[61]^[60]

Biodiversity and Sustainability Issues

The reduction of fallow land in intensive agricultural systems has contributed significantly to biodiversity decline across European farmlands, as these areas provide essential habitats for ground-nesting birds and other wildlife. Since the 1950s, the intensification of crop production has led to a substantial loss of fallow habitats, correlating with a roughly 50% decline in European farmland bird populations over recent decades. For instance, species like the Eurasian skylark (Alauda arvensis), which rely on weedy fallow fields for nesting, have experienced sharp population drops due to the elimination of these uncultivated patches. A 2019 study by Traba and Morales highlighted this link in Spain, where fallow land decreased by 1.1 million hectares between 2002 and 2017, strongly associating the loss with declines in farmland bird abundances, a trend indicative of broader European patterns.^[62] Sustainability challenges arise from the elimination of fallow periods, exacerbating soil degradation and vulnerability to environmental stressors. Continuous cropping without fallow increases soil erosion rates, with studies indicating potential losses of up to 10 tons per hectare per year in susceptible regions, as protective vegetation cover is absent during vulnerable periods.^[63] This degradation is compounded by climate change, which amplifies drought risks in fallow-dependent dryland areas by altering precipitation patterns and increasing evaporation, thereby reducing soil moisture reserves that fallow traditionally helps replenish.^[64]^[65] In regions like the Mediterranean and semi-arid zones, shorter or absent fallow periods heighten these risks, threatening long-term agricultural viability. To address these issues, European policies have implemented measures to promote fallow or set-aside land for biodiversity conservation. The EU's set-aside program, introduced in 1988 and made compulsory from 1992 to 2008, required farmers to withdraw up to 15% of arable land from production, initially to curb surpluses but increasingly to support ecological benefits like habitat provision.^[66] Following its discontinuation amid market liberalization, the program was succeeded by greening obligations under the 2013 Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reform and continued in the 2023-2027 CAP, which incentivizes ecological focus areas—including fallow-like practices—through eco-schemes comprising at least 25% of direct payments as of 2025, aiming to mitigate biodiversity loss and enhance sustainability. Recent 2024 amendments provide greater flexibility, such as derogations allowing fallow land use for production during crises.^[66]^[67]^[68]

Cultural and Religious Significance

Biblical and Jewish Traditions

In the Hebrew Bible, the concept of fallow land is central to the sabbatical year, known as Shmita, mandated in Leviticus 25:1-7. This law requires that every seventh year, the land in ancient Israel must rest, with no sowing, pruning, or harvesting, allowing the soil to lie fallow and natural regrowth to occur for the benefit of the poor, sojourners, and livestock. The practice, rooted in the Torah's instructions given around 1400 BCE, emphasized trust in divine provision, as the yield from the sixth year was promised to sustain the population through the sabbatical and the following year.^[69] This periodic rest not only aimed to restore soil fertility but also reinforced social equity by making produce freely available without ownership claims.^[70] The Jubilee year, or Yovel, extends this principle on a grander scale, occurring every 50th year after seven cycles of Shmita (Leviticus 25:8-13). During this period, the land again lies fallow, prohibiting agricultural work while mandating the return of all ancestral properties to their original owners and the emancipation of Hebrew slaves, thereby preventing permanent land exhaustion and economic disparity. Intended to avert long-term soil degradation from continuous cultivation, the Jubilee nonetheless posed challenges, including potential famine risks due to consecutive fallow periods—the 49th and 50th years—requiring communal reliance on prior harvests and faith in abundance.^[71] Historical observance during the First and Second Temple periods integrated these laws into Israelite agriculture, though full implementation waned after the Temple's destruction in 70 CE.^[72] Rabbinic interpretations, particularly in the Mishnah compiled around 200 CE, adapted Shmita and Jubilee observances to changing circumstances, including exemptions during the Jewish exile outside the Land of Israel. The tractate Sheviit in the Mishnah details agricultural prohibitions applicable only within Israel's borders, suspending land-related laws in the diaspora to avoid impractical burdens, while upholding symbolic and ethical aspects like debt remission.^[73] These rulings influenced modern practice in Israel, where Shmita is partially observed through heter mechira (sale of land to non-Jews) to enable farming continuity, though this mechanism remains controversial, with some communities advocating for stricter adherence to traditional prohibitions.^[74]^[75] Reflecting a balance between ancient mandates and contemporary needs.

Other Global Cultural Practices

In indigenous Amazonian societies, such as the Kayapó of Brazil, slash-and-burn agriculture incorporates fallow cycles typically lasting 3 to 10 years, during which secondary forests regenerate to support biodiversity and soil health, while these rest periods are embedded in rituals and myths that emphasize spiritual renewal and sacred balance with the land.^[76] The Kayapó view agriculture as a cosmological process, where fallowing aligns with ancestral knowledge and ceremonies that honor the forest's vitality, preventing overexploitation and ensuring communal harmony with nature. This practice extends to creating managed "forest islands" from old fields, reinforcing the spiritual role of rest in sustaining both ecological and cultural life.^[77] In Asian traditions, ancient Chinese agriculture featured periodic land rest to restore fertility, reflecting Taoist principles of wu wei (non-action) and harmonious balance between human activity and natural cycles.^[78]^[79] Taoist rites influenced farming by promoting restraint in cultivation, viewing fallow periods as essential for the land's yin-yang equilibrium and long-term productivity, as documented in classical texts linking ritual observance to agricultural sustainability. Similarly, in northeastern India, the Jhum shifting cultivation practiced by tribal communities involves fallow periods of 5 to 15 years after short cropping phases, accompanied by rituals and festivals that invoke ancestral spirits for bountiful regeneration and communal well-being.^[80] These ceremonies, led by village elders, mark the land's rest as a sacred phase, tying agricultural cycles to social cohesion and environmental stewardship. European folklore, particularly in Slavic traditions, includes myths of "fallow spirits" or field guardians like the Polevik, diminutive entities that protect rested land from disturbance, warning through tricks or misfortune against premature plowing that disrupts soil recovery.^[81] These tales portray the Polevik as nocturnal watchers of grain fields and fallows, embodying the land's need for repose and punishing farmers who ignore natural rhythms, thus embedding cultural cautions about sustainable land use in oral narratives passed down through generations.^[82] Such stories parallel broader themes of rest in global practices, including biblical motifs of sabbatical years, but emphasize localized animistic beliefs in the earth's sentient protection.

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Jul 9, 2023 · Mineralization of soil organic matter and organic residues releases ammonium (NH4+), phosphate (HPO42-, H2PO4–) and sulfate (SO42-) into the ...Missing: fallow | Show results with:fallow
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Effects of fallow duration on soil phosphorus fractions and crop P ...
Aug 10, 2025 · Maize and cassava P uptakes increased with fallow duration. Phosphorous in maize grain was positively correlated with fallow vegetation P ...
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Are we there yet? The long walk towards the development of ...
Dec 3, 2019 · The root nodules of the legume plants provide an excellent environment for nitrogen fixation, with rates of 50–465 kg N ha−1 yr−1 in ...Missing: fallow | Show results with:fallow
[44]
[PDF] Nutrient Cycling in Pastures
A variety of soil organisms are involved in decomposition processes that release or mineralize nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, and other nutrients from plant ...
[45]
Regeneration of Earthworm Populations in a Degraded Soil by ...
Aug 9, 2025 · Earthworm fresh weights in fallow plots were higher than in the maize-cassava plot, though this was significant for only 4 out of 11 sampling ...
[46]
[PDF] Agricultural Management Effects on Earthworm Populations
The number of earthworms in an agricultural field is influenced by the intensity and number of soil disturbance events like tillage and traffic, the abundance ...
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Earthworms Effect on Microbial Population and Soil Fertility as Well ...
Earthworms directly impact the plant's growth and recycling of nutrients but are mainly mediated by indirect microbial community change.
[48]
[PDF] Nematodes: Alternative Controls - ATTRA – Sustainable Agriculture
Fields left fallow but kept weed-free for one to two years usually have an. 80 to 90 percent per-year reduction in root-knot populations. (Sasser, 1990) This.
[49]
[PDF] Biology and Management of Fusarium Wilt of Lettuce
Using this estimate, a one to two year bare soil fallow period may reduce the pathogen population by about 75 to 93%, respectively. These results should be ...
[50]
Ch 4. Mechanical and Other Physical Weed Management - SARE
Consequently, burying weed seeds with tillage tends to preserve them, both by reducing germination and by slowing the aging process. However, species differ ...
[51]
Allelopathy and its application as a weed management tool: A review
Nov 27, 2022 · Sorghum can be applied in various forms to control weeds, such as surface mulch, mixed in the soil, extract spray, or inter-cropping. The ...
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Managing Plant Diseases With Crop Rotation - SARE
Crop rotation manages diseases by rotating out of susceptible crops, growing non-host plants until the pathogen dies or is reduced, and understanding pathogen ...Pathogen Characteristics... · Other Factors Affecting... · Rhizoctonia Diseases
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[PDF] CROP INSIGHTS - Purdue Agronomy
Post flood syndrome, or fallow syndrome, refer to the same phenomenon – crops grown in fields flooded or fallow the previous year that show symptoms of P and ...
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Fallow Syndrome: What is it and how do I deal with it?
Aug 12, 2020 · These phosphorus deficiency symptoms include small corn plants turning purple and being short, weak, and the stand having uneven growth.Missing: AMF | Show results with:AMF
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How to prevent fallow syndrome in corn - Minnesota Crop News
Jan 1, 2024 · Fallow syndrome often causes purple coloring of corn plants early in the growing season due to reduced update of phosphorus, which can lead to ...Missing: symptoms AMF
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The decline of farmland birds in Spain is strongly associated to the ...
Jul 1, 2019 · Fallow land in Spain, a country harboring the largest European populations of many endangered farmland birds, has decreased by 1.1 million ha in 15 years.
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Agricultural practices drive elevated rates of topsoil decline across ...
Apr 20, 2023 · On average, predicted soil erosion rates by RUSLE across Kenya equal 5.5 t ha−1 yr−1. Extrapolating this value across Kenya's ~ 58 Mha of land ...
[58]
Combined effects of climate change and agricultural intensification ...
Oct 19, 2023 · Several previous studies have indicated reduced fallow periods as a reason for increased soil erosion, suggesting depletion of organic ...
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The impact of climate change on smallholder and subsistence ...
Other authors have mentioned on-farm storage of food and feed, strategic use of fallow, and late planting of legume crops when cereals fail as drought ...
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https://extension.sdstate.edu/fallow-syndrome-what-it-and-how-do-i-deal-it
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Shemitah - A Year of Faith - Chabad.org
The Shemitah (Sabbatical) year is a year devoted to strengthening our bond with G‑d—specifically, honing our faith in His omnipotence and our trust in His ...
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Israeli Traditions: Shmita - Jewish Virtual Library
The Shmita represents the end of a shared calendar cycle according to the bible and is a time when debts are forgiven, and the land is allowed to rest.Missing: 1400 | Show results with:1400
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The Jubilee Year - Behar Art - Parshah - Chabad.org
In the Land of Israel, every seventh year is a Sabbatical year. After seven cycles, a Jubilee year is proclaimed, in which all slaves are set free and all land ...
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SABBATICAL YEAR AND JUBILEE - JewishEncyclopedia.com
The Mishnah includes in the examination of witnesses questions as to dates, in giving which there must be specified the Sabbatical year, the year, month ...
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https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.0701855104
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How Should Shemitah (The Sabbatical Year) be Observed in the ...
Oct 11, 2007 · Shemitah in Israel means the land must lie fallow, with no planting, reaping, or selling of produce. Two methods exist, but are problematic.
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[PDF] Cultural and Spiritual Values of Biodiversity
The separation of spirit from matter seems to be the prevailing philosophical approach in recent times. A re-evaluation of this precept is being shaped by ...<|control11|><|separator|>
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Overstory #34 - Forest Islands, Kayapo Example - Agroforestry.org
May 17, 1999 · Contrary to persistent beliefs about indigenous slash-and-burn agriculture, fields are not abandoned after a few years from initial clearing and ...Missing: sacred spiritual renewal
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On the relationship between Chinese Taoist rites and agriculture.
There is a close relationship between Taoism and traditional agriculture in China. This relationship is also manifested in the relationship between Taoist ...
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[PDF] The Ecological Thought of Ancient Chinese Agriculture and Its ...
Jul 9, 2022 · This paper analyzes the agriculture ecological thought in ancient China on the theoretical basis, studies the important content of agriculture ...Missing: fallow Dynasty
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Jhum Cultivation Rituals – Shifting Cultivation Practices with ...
Jun 10, 2025 · Cultural Importance of Jhum Cultivation · Collective decision-making by village elders · Ceremonies and festivals tied to different phases of ...Missing: significance | Show results with:significance
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Leshy | Forest Spirit, Nature Guardian, Trickster - Britannica
Leshy, in Slavic mythology, the forest spirit. The leshy is a sportive spirit who enjoys playing tricks on people, though when angered he can be treacherous ...
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Folklore Thursday: Harvest Spirits ~ Black Earth - Folk Horror Revival
Sep 19, 2019 · The Polevik is a strange spirit of the grain fields. They are usually masculine though some accounts mention females and children of the species.