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Legumes, plants of the family Fabaceae, for instance, have nodules on their roots which contain nitrogen-fixing bacteria. It therefore makes good sense agriculturally to alternate them with cereals (family Poaceae) and other plants that need nitrogen. A common modern crop rotation is alternating soybeans and maize (corn). In subsistence farming, it also makes good nutritional sense to grow beans and grain at the same time in different fields.

Crop rotation is also used to control pests and diseases that establish in the soil. Families of plants tend to have similar pests. By regularly changing the planting location, the pest cycles can be broken or limited. This principle is of particular use in organic farming, where pest control is achieved without synthetic pesticides, herbicides and fungicides.

Some plants follow one another favorably and others do not which brings risks of yield losses, development of diseases and weeds.

The choice of the rotation depends on the nature of the soil, which determines the species of plants that one can cultivate, but also on animal breeding, which plays a role in the choice of the rotation (fodder crops, straw). Finally a good rotation takes into account the proportion of natural meadows.
The choice of the rotation is also determined by the economical aspects (local needs, market accessibility).

Crop rotation was already mentioned in the Roman literature, and referred to by great civilizations in Africa and AsiaThe continent of Asia is defined by subtracting Europe and Africa from the great land mass of Africa-Eurasia. The boundaries are vague, especially between Asia and Europe: Asia and Africa meet somewhere near the Suez Canal. The boundary between Asia and E. From the end of the Middle AgesThe Middle Ages formed the middle period in a schematic division of European history into three 'ages': Classical civilization, the Middle Ages, and Modern Civilization. It is commonly dated from the end of the Western Roman Empire ( 5th century) until th until the 20th century19th century 20th century 21st century more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901- 2000 in the sense of the Gre, the three-year rotation was practised by farmers in Europe with a rotation: ryeReferences: 2002-09-22 Rye Secale cereale is a grass grown extensively as a grain and forage crop. It is a member of the wheat tribe and is closely related to barley and wheat, although it is the singular species in the genus Secale . Rye grain is used to or winter wheataestivum ''T. aethiopicum ''T. araraticum ''T. boeoticum ''T. carthlicum ''T. compactum ''T. dicoccon ''T. durum ''T. ispahanicum ''T. karamyschevii ''T. militinae T. monococcum ''T. polonicum T. spelta ''T. timopheevii ''T. trunciale ''T. turanicum ''T., followed by spring oats or barleyBarley Barley field Scientific classification Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Liliopsida Order: Poales Family: Poaceae Genus Hordeum Species Hordeum arizonicum ''Hordeum brachyantherum ''Hordeum bulbosum ''Hordeum californica ''Hordeum dep, then letting the soil rest (fallow) during the third stage. The fact that suitable rotations made it possible to restore or to maintain a productive soil has long been recognised. Following the Black DeathThis article concerns the outbreak of the mid- 14th century. For detailed information on the most commonly accepted cause of the epidemic, see Bubonic plague''. The Black Death (also Bubonic plague and more recently The Black Plague was a devastating epid, it became common to grow peas or beans (for animal fodder) as the spring crop, in place of grains for human consumption.

A four-field rotation was pioneered by the Dutch and popularised by the British agriculturist Charles Townshend in the 18th century. The system (wheat, barley, turnips and clover), opened up a fodder crop and grazing crop allowing livestock to be bred year-round. The four field rotation was a key development in the British Agricultural Revolution.

Crop rotation was pioneered in the USA by George Washington Carver, not only through laboratory work, but through practical promotion and education.

In the Green revolution, the practice of crop rotation gave way in some parts of the world to that of simply adding the necessary chemical inputs to the depleted soil, e.g. replacing nitrogen with ammonium nitrate and restoring soil pH with lime.