Catch Cropping

the sowing of two or sometimes more agricultural crops in the same area; one of the crops, namely, the catch crop, remains in the field and continues its development after the main crops or cover crops have been harvested. Catch cropping makes better use of solar energy, moisture, and soil nutrients and cuts down on weed infestation. This method makes possible two harvests from the same field. Catch cropping in the USSR is common in zones with adequate moisture, such as Byelorussia, the Ukrainian Poles’e, the Baltic region, and the central regions of the Nonchernozem Zone. It is also used with irrigation farming. Catch crops can be annual or perennial grasses, turnips, winter rape, or other plantings that can withstand shade in the first half of their vegetation and do not impair the growing conditions for the main crop. They are planted at the same time or after the planting of the cover crop, which is usually a grain, such as wheat, rye, oats, or barley. Planting can be either companion or separate. The cover crop is cut high in order not to damage the remaining plants, which, after the harvest, are top-dressed and, in irrigated regions, irrigated.