The Adoption of Agricultural Technology - Food Security Group

Box 19. Crop RotationsAdoption of technology for one crop may be affected by interactions with another crop in the rotation. Inthe example below, wheat that is planted after fallow in the Punjab of Pakistan is much more likely to beplanted at the recommended (early) date than wheat that follows cotton, since the cotton harvest canextend into the time for preparing land for wheat. Other practices, such as number of plowings andfertilizer use, tend to differ somewhat between the two systems as well.Major differences in production practices in two cropping patterns in cotton-wheat areas,Pakistan, 1985Wheat after Wheat after SignificancePractice cotton fallow level}Percent planted before 30 Nov.551Percent planted during 1-15 Dec.2731.00Percent planted after 15 Dec.6818Number of piowings and plankings 6.9 8.0 .09Average fertilizer use (kg/ha)Nitrogen 98 86 .09Phosphorus 50 40 .08Number of irrigations 6.0 5.9 .69Average wheat yield (kg/ha) 2,178 2,401 .04Source: Akhtar et al. (1986).50