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Ratooning
Sign in to saveRatooning is the agricultural practice of harvesting a monocot crop by cutting most of the above-ground portion but leaving the roots and the growing shoot apices intact so as to allow the plants to recover and produce a fresh crop in the next season. This practice is widely used in the cultivation of crops such as rice, sugarcane, banana, and pineapple. Ratoon crops cannot be perennially renewed, and may be harvested only for a few seasons, as a decline in yield tends to occur due to increased crowding, damage by pests and diseases, and decreasing soil fertility.
~14 min read
Article
12 sectionsContents
- History
- Etymology
- In sugarcane
- Assessment of ratooning ability
- Growth and development of ratoon crop vis-à-vis plant crop
- Why a ratoon crop ripens earlier than its corresponding plant crop
- Poor ratoon crops due to low temperature harvest
- Need for ratoon management
- Specific applications
- Other crops
- References
- Further reading
Ratooning is the agricultural practice of harvesting a monocot crop by cutting most of the above-ground portion but leaving the roots and the growing shoot apices intact so as to allow the plants to recover and produce a fresh crop in the next season. This practice is widely used in the cultivation of crops such as rice, sugarcane, banana, and pineapple. Ratoon crops cannot be perennially renewed, and may be harvested only for a few seasons, as a decline in yield tends to occur due to increased crowding, damage by pests and diseases, and decreasing soil fertility.
==History== The earliest record for ratooning, in a crop plant, can be traced back to the Vedic period in India. The Atharvaveda mentions that farmers cultivating barley (yava) used to cut barley plants many a time (20/125/2, Richa or Shloka No. 5755).