Context: The article analyzes some of the agricultural practices prescribed by a paper that appeared recently in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA titled: “Integrated farming with intercropping increases food production while reducing environmental footprint”
Key Points

• The paper recommends measures such as relay planting, strip cropping, soil mulching and no till practices.

Relay planting

• In relay cropping the second crop is planted even before the first crop is harvested. Thus, both crops share some part of the season. Thus relay planting means the planting of different crops in the same plot, one right after another, in the same season.
• In some forms of relay cropping, in the beginning itself two or more crops of different durations are cultivated in the same field. When a crop of shorter duration is harvested the second crop gets better space to grow.
• Examples of such relay cropping would be planting rice (or wheat), cauliflower, onion, and summer gourd (or potato onion, lady’s fingers and maize), in the same season.

Strip cropping

• Strip cropping is a method of farming which involves cultivating a field partitioned into long, narrow strips which are alternated in a crop rotation system. 
• Example: Strip cropping in the U.S. involves growing wheat along with corn and soyabean, in the same farm in an alternative manner.
• It involves within-field rotation or “strip rotation”, allowing strips for planting other plants (such as grass, fruits) besides the major crop.

Soil mulching

• The process of covering the open surface of the ground by a layer of some external material, even when the land is in use is called mulching & the material used for covering is called as ‘Mulch.’
• Soil mulching can be done using naturally available agricultural waste such as crop straw and leaves.

No till agriculture

• No-till farming is an agricultural technique for growing crops or pasture without disturbing the soil through tillage.

Key Significance
Relay planting

• Relay planting means less risk since the farmer need not depend only on one crop.
• It also leads to better distribution of labour since the human intervention will be required at different instances of the crop cycle for the different plants.
• Also insects spread less over the varied crops. This will allow for easier pest management.
• Given that legumes increase soil fertility, use of legumes as relay plants can help enhance agricultural yield.

Soil mulching

• Soil mulching can help reduce soil erosion while helping retain soil moisture and beneficial organisms, such as earthworms which can help increase crop productivity.

No till or minimal tilling

• No-till farming decreases the amount of soil erosion tillage causes in certain soils, especially in sandy and dry soils on sloping terrain.
• No-till farming, in which the soil is left undisturbed by tillage and the residue is left on the soil surface, is the most effective soil conservation system.
• It can also help in water conservation.

Challenges

• Some of the major challenges in relay cropping includes challenges in adoption of mechanisation and also the agricultural management practices also become more complex.
• Practices like strip cropping are more viable on larger farms and may not be suitable for the small fields.
• Practices like no till agriculture require special equipments for sowing which could translate into higher upfront cost for the farmers. Also the practice is prone to fungal diseases.

Application in India

• India has a significant population of small farmers, many owning less than 2 hectares of land. 
• About 70% of its rural households still depend primarily on agriculture for their livelihood, with 82% of farmers being small and marginal. 
• Also agricultural productivity continues to be on the lower side of the global averages and India’s agricultural sector is plagued by issues of indebtedness. 
• The paper notes that the application of the above agricultural methods could help increase the annual crop yield, while at the same time decrease the environmental footprint, compared with traditional monoculture cropping. 
• These methods hold immense significance for small farm holders who can grow more food and have a reduced environmental footprint.
• Also practices like strip cropping involving planting of trees to create shelters can help stabilisize the desert in Western India.