Talk:Polyculture/Archive 1

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This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 5 September 2018 and 10 December 2018. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Pandabha.

Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignment by PrimeBOT (talk) 02:31, 18 January 2022 (UTC)

Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment

This article is or was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): S.pat16.

Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignment by PrimeBOT (talk) 06:54, 17 January 2022 (UTC)

Is the Bible against Polyculture?

I remember from that West Wing episode that the Bible is against "planting different crops side by side". Does that mean the Bible is against polyculture? I think the relevant chapter and verse is Lev 19:19. --212.139.197.137 12:40, 22 March 2007 (UTC)

Polyculture doesn't necessarily mean planting different things in the same row. It just means some mixture of different crops, however you want to plant them. Steven Walling 05:40, 5 February 2010 (UTC)

Monoculture more ecological than polyculture

Perhaps it can be mentioned that polyculture is more bad to the environment in the way that it requires the soil to be conditionized for all crops. Making the soil more suitable for a single crop (thus not fertilizing with all the types of nutrients and making the pH neutral) keeps weed out as more weeds are capable on growing on too rich and/or basic soils.

Having the soil suitable to 1 crop (eg making the soil very acid still allows and even benefits growing of blueberrry but reduces weed growth) Eventually, the soil can be used intermittently to allow the soil to recover after a few years

Include section and info in article —Preceding unsigned comment added by 91.182.175.118 (talk) 15:51, 9 June 2009 (UTC)

Naturalization and breeding

I have no sources to back this up as yet, but I think generations of polyculture naturalizes each species to each other. Some results may be a greater variety of soil organisms and a tendency toward specialization of species physiology. Just a thought 74.195.26.164 (talk) 18:56, 16 November 2009 (UTC)

Au contraire! Monoculture especially over thousands of acres makes the crops susceptible to insect infestation which requires farmers to use huge volumes of insecticides generated from foreign oil, which is running out [our world oil peak was in 2005 and the world is on the downward side of the curve.] A huge dead zone is growing in the gulf of Mexico from these pesticides and fertilizers. Polyculture us a natural way of controlling insects with much less insecticide needs. Monoculture requires huge numbers of fertilizers also dependent on foreign oil. Polyculture with intelligent crop rotation reduces the fertilizer needs and produces higher yields. Our fiends in South Asia know a lot about this because necessity is the mother of invention. Polyculture is the answer for protecting the environment, reducing pest infestation and reducing foreign oil dependence. [1] Rrrrprrrr (talk) 09:34, 15 February 2010 (UTC)

Synonymous with Intercropping?

The introduction to the article says that polyculture is also known as intercropping, and links to the article on intercropping. If the two terms are fully interchangeable, it seems like the articles should be merged, and if they are not, then the current wording is incorrect. I don't know enough on the subject to say whether there's any utility in keeping two separate articles, but either way there seems to be a problem. Can anyone with more relevant knowledge say whether a general distinction exists between polyculture and intercropping? Ambisinistral (talk) 12:43, 19 June 2022 (UTC)

Thanks for pointing out the error in the lead. In the body of the article, intercropping is identified as one form of annual polyculture (section 2.1), and is covered in section 2.1.1. Chiswick Chap (talk) 12:57, 19 June 2022 (UTC)

GA Review

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

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This review is transcluded from Talk:Polyculture/GA1. The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the review.

Reviewer: Jens Lallensack (talk · contribs) 19:50, 22 December 2023 (UTC)

I will give this a read. --Jens Lallensack (talk) 19:50, 22 December 2023 (UTC)

Many thanks. Holiday rules apply but I'll do what I can to respond to comments promptly. Chiswick Chap (talk) 20:33, 22 December 2023 (UTC)

I do not expect quick replies, please enjoy your holidays first!

Comments

My first impression is that the article lacks a number of important aspects, while picking a few aspects (such as pest control) that are discussed in detail. I would recommend to read-through this book chapter, which seems to be an comprehensive summary of polyculture covering all the aspects: [2]. If you do not have that book, I do; just send me a wikimail and I will provide it.

Comparing the contents of that chapter with this article tells me that a lot is missing. For example, there are more advantages (in particular, the effects on soil properties are not covered; this goes way beyond tilling). Also, the improved resilience can be mentioned (i.e., more stable food yields). Some terms/practices are not mentioned (e.g., relay intercropping, living mulches, etc). And many more things.

Other comments

• Crop yield is an issue in polycultures.[5][25] While a polyculture produces more biomass overall than a monoculture,[5] the yield of an individual crop inside the polyculture is lower, not least because only part of the land area of the field is available to it. – It makes sense that the yield of an individual crop is lower, and that overall biomass production is higher. But much more interesting is the total yield per unit area of the target foods (which, I think, is implied in "crop yield is an issue in polycultures"). Is that lower, too?
  • It is not so implied. Like-for-like comparisons are difficult as there are many variables; weeds are often tolerated in traditional polycultures, inputs are low, scientific measurements are probably absent. One would have to compare such a polyculture with a traditional-style and by modern standards low-yielding monoculture. If polyculture is applied to a modern farm, then the high biomass total (which is a "yield") is one of the rewards, but this does not equate to a higher mass of the "main" crop, wheat or whatever, and it can't be expected to do so. Chiswick Chap (talk) 17:23, 26 December 2023 (UTC)
    • But your statements contradict what is written in the article. When comparing the crop yield per unit area is not possible (as you say), then why are the statements "crop yield is an issue in polycultures" and "the yield of an individual crop inside the polyculture is lower" possible? The same problems you that mention should apply to these. I don't even see where both claims are supported by any of the sources. Quite to the contrary, source [5] speaks of "win-wins" between yields and biocontrol. --Jens Lallensack (talk) 18:42, 26 December 2023 (UTC)

      I'll take a look at all of this back at base. Chiswick Chap (talk) 19:27, 26 December 2023 (UTC)

      • Jens Lallensack OK, I've clarified the text, and added a variety of materials from the book chapter. Mostly this supports what the text already said; I've added some new subsections for additional points that it makes, including more history by continent, efficiency, improving the soil, living mulches, and mixed cropping.

• I wonder if the "Effectiveness" section may be more appropriately called "Disadvantages", as this is what the content is about. The book chapter mentioned above has a list of disadvantages too, some important things that should be included, such as limited use of mechanization processes, making polycultures unattractive from an economical point of view.
  • Done, and grouped all 'Advantages' also.

• Maybe the article should make clear that polyculture is the growing of more than one crop species together at the same time in a single space. Therefore, sequential cropping (growing crops one after the other in a single year on the same field) is not polyculture. Maybe it makes even sense to have an overview section on the possible approaches here that defines these terms. See the introduction of the mentioned book chapter for this. --Jens Lallensack (talk) 02:18, 23 December 2023 (UTC)
  • Glossed both in lead and in body.
  • Regrouped text and table to form a concise 'Definitions' section.

Final comments

Looks excellent now! Just a couple of minor points, and then, I think, the article is ready.

• However, the yield of an individual crop inside the polyculture is lower – Just to confirm: As written, this does refer to the individual crop (e.g., the maize in the Three Sisters), not to the individual plant?
  • Yes, edited.

• Polyculture avoids the release of pesticides[11][12] and fertilizers into the environment.[13] Environmental impacts such as eutrophication of fresh water are greatly reduced.[11] – Add "can". It is of course possible to combine polyculture with pesticides and fertilizers. Some fertilizer (and be it a traditional organic one) is needed in most polycultures anyways, I think; so this might relate to industrial fertilizer only?
  • Yes, edited.

• Tillage ... is reduced in polyculture – Again, not necessarily. I am also unsure what "reduced" means. Either you till, or you don't till.
  • Edited.

• Polyculture can help increase diet diversity and improve people's nutrition – Does this refer to horticulture only?
  • Guess in the West it kind of implies horticulture, but in traditional systems there is barely any boundary between agriculture and horticulture, think of the Nigerian systems for instance.

• In Mexico, coffee plants are often grown alongside other tree species.[2] – redundant with following paragraph
  • Removed.

• Permaculture is the polyculture of perennial plants such as legume-grass mixtures and wildflower mixtures. – This does not match the definition provided in the permaculture article? --Jens Lallensack (talk) 20:51, 31 December 2023 (UTC)
  • Removed, people can follow the link for explanation if required.

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.