Crop rotation: a statistical analysis of an eleven years experiment in Campinas, State of São Paulo, Brazil

With the goal of determining the crop rotation effects on cotton, peanut, rice, sugar cane and maize yields, a rotation experiment was established in Campinas, State of São Paulo, Brazil, for eleven years (1963/64 to 1974/75). The residual effect was determined by planting maize on all experimental plots in the following year (1975/76). The experimental design was randomized blocks with twenty treatments and four replications, spanning all treatments in all years in order to have an efficient and faster evaluation of the crop rotation effects. The results showed that the continuous cropping with mineral fertilizer applied annually led to a significant decrease of crop yield. However, when this continuous cropping received an initial liming, the average crop yield was maintained throughout the years. The crop rotation effect, with initial liming and mineral fertilization resulted in a significant increase in crop yields when compared with the individual crop that received only mineral fertilization.

crop rotation; long term experiments; dark red latosol; cotton; pea nut; rice; sugar cane; maize