For the computing concept, see Monoculture (computer science). For the sociological concept, see Monoculturalism.
Monocultural potato field
In agriculture, monoculture is the practice of growing one crop species in a field at a time.[1] Monoculture is widely used in intensive farming and in organic farming: both a 1,000-hectare cornfield and a 10-ha field of organic kale are monocultures. Monoculture of crops has allowed farmers to increase efficiency in planting, managing, and harvesting, mainly by facilitating the use of machinery in these operations, but monocultures can also increase the risk of diseases or pest outbreaks. This practice is particularly common in industrialized nations worldwide. Diversity can be added both in time, as with a crop rotation or sequence, or in space, with a polyculture or intercropping (see table below).
Continuous monoculture, or monocropping, where farmers raise the same species year after year, can lead to the quicker buildup and spread of pests and diseases in a susceptible crop.
The term "oligoculture" has been used to describe a crop rotation of just a few crops, as practiced in several regions of the world.[2]
The concept of monoculture can also extend to (for example) discussions of variety in urban landscapes.[3]
^Pandey, D.K; Adhiguru, P; De, H K; Hazarikaa, B N (2021). "Permaculture to monoculture in shifting cultivation landscape of Mizoram, Northeast India: Are agrobiodiversity and happiness waning?" (PDF). Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge. 20 (2): 479–485.
^
Compare:
Denison, R. Ford (2012). Darwinian Agriculture: How Understanding Evolution Can Improve Agriculture. Princeton: Princeton University Press (published 2016). p. 3. ISBN 9780691173764. Regionally and globally, we practice oligoculture, relying mainly on only a few crops, particularly corn (maize), wheat, and rice.
^
For example:
Gomez, Rafael; Isakov, Andre; Semansky, Matthew (2015). Small Business and the City: The Transformative Potential of Small Scale Entrepreneurship. Rotman-UTP Publishing. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. pp. 15–16. ISBN 9781442696518. [...] the idiosyncratic nature of what an urban main street can offer local residents stands in sharp contrast to the predictable monoculture of contemporary retail development.
In agriculture, monoculture is the practice of growing one crop species in a field at a time. Monoculture is widely used in intensive farming and in organic...
cultural diversity. Such cultural globalization may lead to a human monoculture. This process, understood as cultural imperialism,[page needed] is associated...
volume production of wood, usually by planting one type of tree as a monoculture forest. The term tree farm also is used to refer to tree nurseries and...
species together in the same place at the same time, in contrast to monoculture, which had become the dominant approach in developed countries by 1950...
2021. Allen, Mike (May 26, 2020). "Palantir CEO hits Silicon Valley "monoculture," may leave California". Axios. Retrieved July 15, 2020. Schubarth, Cromwell...
use and diversifying pest and weed communities, the productivity of monocultures is highly dependent on external inputs that may be harmful to the soil's...
or intercropping (see table below). Note that the distinction between monoculture and polyculture is not the same as between monocropping and intercropping...
Modern history British Agricultural Revolution Green Revolution Organic Monoculture On land Agrivoltaic Animal husbandry cattle pigs poultry sheep Dairy...
been slowed and many trees have been planted. However, in many cases monoculture plantations of conifers have replaced the original mixed natural forest...
serves as a template for expectations in a social group. Accepting only a monoculture in a social group can bear risks, just as a single species can wither...
that describes the relative land area required under sole cropping (monoculture) to produce the same yield as under intercropping (polyculture). The...
world. In the 20th century, industrial agriculture based on large-scale monocultures came to dominate agricultural output. As of 2021[update], small farms...
Modern history British Agricultural Revolution Green Revolution Organic Monoculture On land Agrivoltaic Animal husbandry cattle pigs poultry sheep Dairy...
World government is the concept of a single political authority with jurisdiction over all of Earth and humanity. It is conceived in a variety of forms...
dominate the local economy until 2005, when, after 365 years of having a monoculture, the government closed the sugar industry. This decision was made because...
Modern history British Agricultural Revolution Green Revolution Organic Monoculture On land Agrivoltaic Animal husbandry cattle pigs poultry sheep Dairy...
Modern history British Agricultural Revolution Green Revolution Organic Monoculture On land Agrivoltaic Animal husbandry cattle pigs poultry sheep Dairy...
prohibited the importation of additional slaves from abroad. Years of monoculture tobacco farming had also degraded Virginia's agricultural productivity...
easier to digest or higher in nutrition. Sheep, however, graze well in monoculture pastures where most goats fare poorly. Like all ruminants, sheep have...
Shackleton's recommendations, the Falklands diversified from a sheep-based monoculture into an economy of tourism and, with the establishment of the Falklands...
Modern history British Agricultural Revolution Green Revolution Organic Monoculture On land Agrivoltaic Animal husbandry cattle pigs poultry sheep Dairy...
biodiversity is one of the great agricultural challenges that farmers face. On monoculture farms, the approach is generally to suppress damaging associated diversity...
Modern history British Agricultural Revolution Green Revolution Organic Monoculture On land Agrivoltaic Animal husbandry cattle pigs poultry sheep Dairy...
Modern history British Agricultural Revolution Green Revolution Organic Monoculture On land Agrivoltaic Animal husbandry cattle pigs poultry sheep Dairy...
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