monoculture

If a farmer cultivates only one crop such as wheat or corn, it is called a single piece. On large scale industrial farms, single cultivation is often the mode of current selection (good or bad!)

A single culture makes it easier for farms to produce large amounts of crops, and simplicity of planting and harvesting and pest control make workers and farmers easier. However, since monoculture damages the quality of soil over time and it is likely to rapidly expand pests and diseases, it is controversial. Multicultural cultivation is healthier for the environment if a wide variety of crops are cultivated together. Mono means "1" in Greek and poly means "large".

Genetically engineered organisms are due to the increase in single culture and seed diversity. Some activists like Michael Poland even claim that a single culture is "a big evil in modern agriculture". However, this is a rough over-simplification of the problem, often a misunderstanding of what "single culture" means. This is discussed in detail in the Thoughtcapism blog (worth reading and more detailed than what we provided here). Based on how to define a single culture and concerns, you can look up various indicators to understand how the GMO affects these issues. At the system-wide level, the current use of GMO protects 13 million hectares of land from turnover to agriculture, and as a result it is reported in the 2014 review "Supply of agricultural biotechnology and impact on land use" I will. Said. Another concern is that biotechnology can lead to a reduction in the genetic diversity of the crop itself.

Monoculture is an agricultural method of cultivating a single crop and genetic variation can also be reduced. Modern agribusiness depends on monoculture. For example, almost all potatoes cultivated, sold and consumed come from one species, Russet Burbank. Potato is native to Andes of South America and has dozens of natural varieties. Since wild potatoes are genetically diverse, they can adapt to climate change and diseases. However, in Russet Burbanks, there are few genetic variations in plants, so farmers need to use fertilizers and pesticides to secure healthy crops.

In the past, monoculture showed a very unreliable farm system, as agricultural crops do not meet new changing environmental conditions. One of the more common adverse effects of monoculture is Irish potato famine caused by Phytophthora infestans (potato pestilence). In order to prevent this and other similar events, the recommended farming practice is to include various crops in crop production and to seasonally rotate them. Rotation is a good foundation, important for healthy and sustainable management of agriculture and protection of the environment. Each farmer is responsible for deciding whether to implement a single plant agricultural production system.