Fallow is land left unsown for a period of time, usually a year in order that it may recover itself from an exhausted state. Strictly spealdng, fallow ground is left altogether without crops; but in agricultural usage strict fallow is not always adopted, and the term fallow is applied to various modes of treatment, of which at least three distinct varieties are recognized: baref allow, bastard fallow, and green-crop fallow. Bare fallow is that in which the land remains completely bare for a whole year; in bastard fallow it is ploughed up and worked after the removal of a spring or summer crop, preparatory to the sowing of a root or forage crop, to occupy the ground during autumn or winter; in green-crop fallow the land is sown with a root-crop, such as turnips or potatoes, placed in rows far enough apart to admit of the intermediate spaces being stirred, pulverized, and cleaned, during its growth, by machine or hand implements.
Fallowing is an ancient process, it has been known for centuries that the same crop frown on the same land deteriorates after a few years, partly because the soil is exhausted and partly because of disease. By leaving the land for a year, it can recover and subsequent crops improve. Research Fallow
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Abbreviations
General Information
Research Fallow
