Crop Rotation Decreases Greenhouse Gas Emissions

By: Successful Farming Staff

Crop rotation doesn’t just deter the continuous corn yield penalty or pests like soybean cyst nematode and corn rootworm. University of Illinois (U of I) scientists have found further evidence it also lowers greenhouse gas emissions compared with continuous corn or soybean, according to an article written by Lauren Quinn, a media and communications specialist for the U of I’s College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences.

“I think farmers in today’s world are looking for reasons to avoid growing in a monoculture. They’re looking to diversify and rotate their systems. If they’re doing that partially out of a concern for the environment, well, it lowers greenhouse gasses. And it could potentially result in a substantial yield increase,” says Gevan Behnke, research specialist and doctoral candidate in Maria Villamil’s research group in the U of I’s department of crop sciences.