Dryland Farming - Crops

Crops

Winter wheat is the typical crop although skilled dryland farmers sometimes grow corn, beans or even watermelons. Successful dryland farming is possible with as little as 9 inches (230 mm) of precipitation a year; higher rainfall increases the variety of crops. Native American tribes in the arid Southwest subsisted for hundreds of years on dryland farming in areas with less than 10 inches (250 mm) of rain. The choice of crop is influenced by the timing of the predominant rainfall in relation to the seasons. For example, winter wheat is more suited to regions with higher winter rainfall while areas with summer wet seasons may be more suited to summer growing crops such as sorghum, sunflowers or cotton.

Read more about this topic:  Dryland Farming

Famous quotes containing the word crops:

    That’s funny. That plane’s dustin’ crops where they ain’t no crops.
    Ernest Lehman (b.1920)

    Religious fervor makes the devil a very real personage, and anything awe-inspiring or not easily understood is usually connected with him. Perhaps this explains why, not only in the Ozarks but all over the State, his name crops up so frequently.
    —Administration in the State of Miss, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)

    She planted corn and left the rest
    to elements, convinced that God
    with giant faucets regulates the rain
    and saves the crops from frost or foreign wind.
    Richard Hugo (1923–1982)