This rotation can be used in all soil zones, although the specific crops that are plugged into the rotation will vary according to the region. Crop diseases are kept in check as all crops have a 4-year span before they are planted back on the same piece of land, provided there are two different cereal crops used. Sclerotinia is the one disease that can carry across between pulses and oilseed crops so it has to be watched in wet years. Crop residues are easy to manage, as there is always a low residue crop, pulse or oilseed following a high residue crop, cereal. This helps avoid large residue build up that may cause plugging problems with seeding equipment, it also provides enough residue to protect the soil against erosion in the years of low residue crops such as the pulses and oilseeds.
Soil fertility is enhanced with the inclusion of a pulse in the rotation.
Over the next few issues of the Prairie Steward, I will be addressing all of these issues of rotations and how they impact one another. In this issue I will look at the weed control aspect of this rotation. All weeds have a time of year or a specific climatic condition in which they germinate and grow best. If we always seed the field closest to home first and the field furthest away last, we are selecting for specific weeds on these fields with our seeding habits. One of the best examples of this is Pygmy flower and Yellow Whitlow grass.