An agricultural system where a single crop variety is cultivated on a large scale, excluding all other plant species. This approach maximizes the efficiency of planting, spraying, and harvesting machinery, and simplifies chemical management. However, it heavily depletes specific soil nutrients and creates highly vulnerable environments for pest and disease outbreaks.
Heard on the job
Years of corn monoculture have left that soil completely stripped of organic matter and crawling with rootworms.
Also heard as
- monocropping
Do not mix it up with
- Polyculture: Monoculture is growing one crop at a time, while polyculture is growing multiple crops in the same space.
Related terms
Crop rotation
The practice of planting different types of crops sequentially on the same plot of land.
Polyculture
The agricultural practice of growing multiple crop species in the same space.
Intensive farming
An agricultural system designed to maximize crop or livestock yields using high levels of inputs.