Planting - Planting

Planting crops on cultivated land. Seeds can be sown directly on the land, or seedlings grown elsewhere, such as in a seedbed, can be planted. Planting the same crop on the same land every year is called continuous cropping, while planting several crops in a set order in cycles is called crop rotation. Planting crops on cultivated land only once a year is called single cropping, while planting different crops twice, such as sowing wheat after rice, is called double cropping. Planting the same crop twice in one year is called double cropping.

Primitive cropping methods involved abandoning cultivation after a few years and cultivating other land, but eventually changed to permanent cultivation. In these cases, crops were cultivated mostly in the main grain method, or in the three-field method, where the land was divided into three parts and one was left fallow and rotated between them, eventually developing into the improved three-field method, where pasture was grown in the fallow land. Eventually, the rotation method, where grain crops are cultivated alternately with non-cereal crops, was developed in England in the 18th century. Since then, various cropping methods have been used, but the free method (optional cultivation) is used in horticultural areas near cities that are targeted for markets.

[Hoshikawa Kiyochika]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

耕地に作物を植え付けること。種子を直接耕地に播(ま)き付ける場合と、苗床などほかの場所で育てた苗を植え付ける場合とがある。同じ耕地に毎年同じ作物を作付けすることを連作、数種の作物を一定の順序で周期的に作付けすることを輪作とよぶ。また、耕地に1年間に1回だけ作付けすることを一毛作、水稲のあとにムギを播くように異なった作物を2回作付けすることを二毛作という。同一作物を1年に2回作付けする場合は二期作とよぶ。

　作付けの様式は、原始的には数年の作付け後に放棄して他の土地を開墾して作付ける代田法が行われ、やがて永続的な作付けに変わった。この場合、大部分に穀物を作付けるものを主穀(しゅこく)式、三分してその一つを休閑し、これを順繰りに交替する三圃(さんぽ)式などが行われ、休閑地に牧草を入れる改良三圃式へと発展した。やがて穀物作と禾穀(かこく)物以外の作物とを交替に1年おきに作付ける輪栽式が18世紀にイギリスに生まれた。以来さまざまな作付け様式がとられるが、市場を対象とした都市近郊園芸地帯などでは自由式（随意作）がとられている。

［星川清親］

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