"Dean Hoffman" wrote in message
...
On 11/12/02 8:21 PM, in article
, "Danielle Davis"
wrote:

How many years can you plant the same crop in the same spot before all
the nutrients are gone from the soil.


You should be able to plant the same crop indefinitely as long as the
nutrients are replaced each year by fertilizer and other crop nutrients.
I've seen corn planted in the same fields for 20+ years. This is in the
central U.S.
Crop diseases and pests tend to get in those fields and cut the yields
unless the crop is sprayed. There is one corn disease that can be only
prevented by crop rotation. The name of it escapes me right now. Seed
corn
companies in my area will not plant their seed corn in fields that had
corn
the previous year.
There would be a dramatic yield drop for corn if it wasn't fertilized
each
year with nitrogen fertilizer. The rough rule of thumb is one pound of
nitrogen for each bushel of corn.

Dean

You will eventually get a disease, weed, nematode or insect problems that
cuts the yields or increases cost too much. Some crops and soils are more
unstable than others but eventually almost all crops will have some kind or
a problem if your plant the same crop year after year.

We are getting more technology that lets us do it longer but mother nature
is a hard old lady to beat. An occasional rotation will make things a lot
easier and a lot less risky that depending on just one crop. Crops and
cattle work well togeater. Spreading the risk and in my part of the world
giving you a range of options on winter and summer crops that pay well at
100 to 400 pounds of beef per acre or more if you have irrigation.
--
Gordon

Gordon Couger
Stillwater, OK
www.couger.com/gcouger