Keywords

Introduction

Crop rotation is the production of different economically important plant species in recurrent succession on a particular field or group of fields (Bruns 2012). It is a critical feature of all organic cropping systems because it provides the principal mechanism for building healthy soils, a major way to control pests, and a variety of other benefits (Mohler 2001). Crop rotation means changing the type of crop grown on a particular piece of land from year to year. Crop rotation is one of the most effective agricultural control strategies. It involves arrangement of crops planted on same field; the succeeding crops should belong to different families (Huang et al. 2003). The planned rotation may vary from two, three year or longer period (Kamel et al. 2016). Some of the general benefits of using rotations are: improve or maintain soil fertility, improve soil structure (Raimbault and Vyn 1991), increase soil organic matter levels (Bremer et al. 2008), and enhance mycorrhizal associations (Johnson et al. 1992). Crop rotation reduces the spread of pests , which provide better weed control and interrupt insects and disease cycles (Karlen et al. 1994).

Crop rotation increased water use efficiency and improved crop nutrient use efficiency (Tanaka et al. 2005). It reduces risk of weather damage and thus reduces yield losses and that will increase net profit of farmers (Kaye et al. 2007). It could also improve grain quality and reduce grain yield variability (Varvel 2000). Furthermore, crop rotation could save on the applied irrigation water to crops (Ouda et al. 2016).

The appropriate choice of crops within the rotation and their sequence is crucial, where each crop species has slightly different characteristics, e.g., N demanding or N2 fixing (Mohler 2001), shallow or deep rooting, amount, and quality of crop residue returned. These characteristics along with existing biotic and abiotic factors determine the ultimate suitability of a break crop in a given cropping system (Malik 2010).

Thus, using crop rotations could help in the sustainable use of natural agricultural resources as well as increase the agricultural productivity of unit land and unit of irrigation water under the prevailing conditions of water scarcity. As a result, the probability of attaining food security for strategic crops will increase and that will help in improving living standards and poverty elevation of rural population.

The objective of this chapter was to present the prevailing crop rotations in the different soil types of the five agro-climatic zones of Egypt . Furthermore, different crop rotations were suggested to be implemented in these agro-climatic zones to increase food production and save on the applied irrigation.

Figure 8.1 shows the five agro-climatic zones developed by Ouda and Noreldin (2017).

Fig. 8.1
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Source Ouda and Noreldin (2017)

Map of the agro-climatic zones of Egypt .

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Water Requirements of the Crop Rotations

Both the values of monthly evapotranspiration (ETo) in each agro-climatic zone and the values of crop-specific coefficients (Kc) of the cultivated crops in the crop rotations are used in the calculation of water requirements. The BISm model (Snyder et al. 2004) was used to calculate values of ETo and Kc in 2016. The BISm calculates ETo using Penman–Monteith equation. The model provides an easy method to determine Kc values for a large number of crops, as affected by the weather in a certain region, irrigation method, as well as season length.

Table 8.1 presents the annual values of solar radiation (SRAD), maximum (TMAX), minimum (TMIN), and dew point (TDEW) temperatures, wind speed (WSEP), and ETo values in the five agro-climatic zones of Egypt in 2016.

Table 8.1 Annual averages of weather elements and ETo values in the agro-climatic zones in 2016
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Table 8.2 shows the planting and harvest dates as well as the season length of the selected crops.

Table 8.2 Planting and harvest dates and season length for the selected crops
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The dates of Kc growth stages and values in the first, second, and third agro-climatic zones are presented in Table 8.3. The date of initial Kc (Kcini), the date of mid-season Kc (Kcini), and the date of end season Kc (Kcini) for the studied crop were similar in the first, second, and third agro-climatic zones as well as its values (Table 8.3).

Table 8.3 Date of Kc growth stages and its values for the studied field crops in the first, second, and third agro-climatic zones
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Similarly, the date of Kc growth stages and its values was comparable in the fourth and fifth agro-climatic zones and it was different than its counterpart values in the first, second, and third agro-climatic zones (Table 8.4).

Table 8.4 Date of Kc growth stages and its values for the studied crops in the fourth and fifth agro-climatic zones
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Water requirements for the crops existing in the prevailing and suggested crop rotations were calculated. It is worth mentioning that water requirements for crops existing in the prevailing crop rotations were calculated under surface irrigation with 60% application efficiency, which is the prevailing system in the old lands, surrounding the Nile River. In the new lands existing around the old lands, modern irrigation systems are prevailing, namely sprinkler and drip systems. The use of either systems depends on crop type. Application efficiency of sprinkler and drip systems is 75 and 85%, respectively.

With respect to water requirements of the crops existing in the suggested crop rotation, we assumed that cultivation on raised beds will be implemented, where 20% of the applied irrigation water to surface irrigation could be saved (Abouelenein et al. 2010). Additionally, we assumed that improvement of the application efficiency of either sprinkler or drip system by 10% could be done through using irrigation scheduling (Taha 2012).

According to earlier research on water requirements of cowpea intercropped with maize system, Zohry et al. (2017) indicated that the applied water to maize was used by both cowpea and maize, when both crops were intercropped. Thus, we assumed that, for any intercropping system, the applied water to the main crop in the system is enough to fulfill the needs of the secondary crop in the system.

Crop Rotations in Egypt

We presented in this section the prevailing crop rotation in each agro-climatic zone . This prevailing crop rotation was modified and another crop rotation was suggested. The modification was done with the aim of increasing land and water productivity.

The First Agro-climatic Zone

Crop Rotation in Calcareous Soil

The prevailing crop rotation in the calcareous soil of the first agro-climatic zone is presented in Fig. 8.2. In this rotation, wheat precedes sunflower in the same piece of land in the first section, as well as barley precedes maize in the second section. Both crop sequences are expected to cause soil deterioration. Furthermore, the rotation contains only one legume crop, namely clover.

Fig. 8.2
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Prevailing crop rotation in the calcareous soil of the first agro-climatic zone

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The suggested crop rotation (Fig. 8.3) included a legume crop in each section to improve soil properties. Soybean replaced sunflower in the first section, and faba bean replaced barley in the second section. Moreover, two intercropping systems were included, namely cowpea intercropped with maize in the second section and sunflower intercropped with in the third section. Cowpea intercropped with maize resulted in reduction in maize-associated weeds (Zohry 2005) and an increase in maize yield by 10% (Hamd-Alla et al. 2014). Detailed description in cowpea intercropped with maize system exists in Chap. 3.

Fig. 8.3
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Suggested crop rotation in calcareous soils of the first agro-climatic zone

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In the third section, sunflower intercropped with tomato was preceded by clover. In this intercropping system, shading by sunflower plants is presented to tomato plants, which improved fruit set and consequently yield quality (Abdel 2006). Detailed description in sunflower intercropped with tomato system exists in Chap. 7.

Table 8.5 shows that the total applied water to the prevailing rotation was higher than the suggested rotation by 3351 m3/ha, which is equal to 20% of the applied water to the prevailing rotation.

Table 8.5 Water requirements for the prevailing and suggested crop rotations in the calcareous soil of the first agro-climatic zone
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Crop Rotation in Salt-Affected Soil

The prevailing crop rotation in the salt-affected soil contained salinity-tolerant crops. However, sugar beet and wheat preceding rice have harmful effect on the soil. Furthermore, this rotation is expected to consume large amount of irrigation water because rice is cultivated twice and both sugar beet and clover have high water requirements. In addition, it contained only one legume crop (Fig. 8.4).

Fig. 8.4
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Prevailing crop rotation in salt-affected soil of the first agro-climatic zone

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To overcome the consequences of cultivating two cereal crops (winter and summer) in the same piece of land, fahl clover could be cultivated after rice and before wheat, as an early winter crop in the first section of the rotation (Fig. 8.5). Fahl clover is a variety of Egyptian clover, which has stem branching ability, rapid growth, and large forage yield. It is only cut once and it could be cultivated as early winter crop in September and stays until the beginning of November, where its growing season is between 60 and 70 days (Bakheit et al. 2016). Sheha et al. (2014) reported that cultivation of fahl clover before sugar beet and after rice increases sugar beet yield as a result of nitrogen fixation, which accelerates the microbial activity of the soil. In this three-crop sequence, wheat is cultivated in November and harvested in April. Rice is cultivated in May and harvested in August, and then, fahl clover is cultivated September and harvested in early November.

Fig. 8.5
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Suggested crop rotation in salt-affected soil of the first agro-climatic zone of Egypt

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In the second section of the rotation, faba bean intercropped with sugar beet was included (Fig. 8.6). In this system, sugar beet is cultivated with 100% of its recommended planting density and faba bean is cultivated using 25% of its recommended planting density. As a result, the farmer could obtain 100 and 25% of sugar beet and faba bean yield, respectively (Abd El-Zaher and Gendy 2014).

Fig. 8.6
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Faba bean intercropped with sugar beet

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Water requirements for the crops existing in the prevailing and suggested crop rotations are presented in Table 8.6. It is worth noting that leaching requirements for the cultivated crops were considered to be 10% of the applied irrigation water for each crop. The table revealed that the amount of saved irrigation water as a result of implementing the suggested rotations will be 3418 m3/ha, which represents 16% of the total applied water to the prevailing rotation.

Table 8.6 Water requirements for the prevailing and suggested crop rotations in salt-affected soil of the first agro-climatic zone
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The Second Agro-climatic Zone

Crop Rotation in Sandy Soil

In sandy soil of Egypt, farmers tend to cultivate large areas of peanut in this type of soil. However, continuous cultivation of peanut results in continuous decline in peanut yield due to deterioration of soil microbial community (Wang and Chen 2005). It reduces the diversity of bacteria in both species and quantity, lowers the number of fungi species, and increases mold quantity (Xie et al. 2007).

The prevailing crop rotation in the sandy soil (Fig. 8.7) included peanut in two of its three sections. Furthermore, wheat preceded peanut and sugar beet preceded maize. In addition, the rotation contained only one legume crop, namely clover.

Fig. 8.7
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Prevailing crop rotation in the sandy soil in the second agro-climatic zone of Egypt

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The suggested crop rotation (Fig. 8.8) contains legume crops in each section. In the first section of the rotation, the system of maize intercropping with peanut (Sherif et al. 2005) is implemented. Dahmardeh (2013) indicated that intercropping maize with peanut was advantageous, compared to both sole crops of maize and peanut, where productivity of the unit land was increased. Detailed description of the system is presented in Chap. 7.

Fig. 8.8
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Proposed crop rotation in the sandy soil of the second agro-climatic zones of Egypt

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In the second section of the rotation, three-crop sequence was implemented, where pea preceded sunflower and followed by late-season maize (cultivated in July). In this system, pea is cultivated in September and harvested in February in the following year. In March, sunflower is cultivated and harvested in June. In July, maize is cultivated as late crop in July and harvested in October before the cultivation of winter crops in November. In the third section of the rotation, full season clover preceded maize.

Sprinkler or drip systems are the prevailing irrigation systems in this type of soil. Table 8.7 indicates that the suggested rotation could save 273 m3/ha, which accounts for 2% of the total applied water to the prevailing rotation.

Table 8.7 Water requirements for the prevailing and suggested crop rotations in sandy soil of the second agro-climatic zone
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Crop Rotation in Clay Soil

The prevailing crop rotation in the clay soil of the second agro-climatic zone (Fig. 8.9) included two legume crops, namely faba bean and clover. However, continuous cultivation of maize after wheat could have bad effect on soil properties.

Fig. 8.9
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Prevailing crop rotation in the clay soil of the second agro-climatic zone of Egypt

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In the first section of the rotation (Fig. 8.10), three-crop sequence was implemented, where wheat followed by maize followed by fahl clover . In this system, wheat is cultivated in November and harvested in April, maize is cultivated in May and harvested in September, and fahl clover is cultivated in September and harvested in the first week of November before the following winter crop (Zohry et al. 2017).

Fig. 8.10
figure 10

Proposed crop rotation in the clay soil of the second agro-climatic zone of Egypt

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In the second section of the rotation, relay intercropping cotton on wheat system (Zohry 2005) was implemented. Furthermore, Zhang et al. (2008) stated that in relay intercropping cotton on wheat system fertilizer use efficiency increased, which could reduce environmental risks of leaching it to groundwater . Detailed description of the system is presented in Chap. 3.

In the third section of the rotation, faba bean is followed by maize intercropping with tomato system (Mohamed et al. 2013). Abdelmageed et al. (2003) indicated that this system is implemented by the farmers and is very popular. Furthermore, maize could modify the micro-climate for tomato and protect the tomato fruits from sun damage. Incidence of powdery mildew that occurs in tomato plants was reduced when maize is intercropped with it (Hao 2013). Ijoyah and Fanen (2012) stated that different patterns of roots (deep for tomato and shallow for maize) exploit soil moisture and nutrients in different soil layers, which minimize plants competition.

Changing monoculture cultivation in the prevailing rotation to intercropping systems in the suggested rotation resulted in irrigation water saving. The saved amount was 1525 m3/ha or 9% of the applied irrigation water to the prevailing crop rotation (Table 8.8).

Table 8.8 Water requirements for the prevailing and suggested crop rotations in clay soil of the second agro-climatic zone
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The Third Agro-climatic Zone

Crop Rotation in Salt-Affected Soil

The prevailing crop rotation in salt-affected soil of the third agro-climatic zone contained clover cultivated twice as short season and full season. It also contained cotton, wheat, and rice cultivated once (Fig. 8.11).

Fig. 8.11
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Prevailing crop rotation in the salt-affected soil in the third agro-climatic zone of Egypt

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Regarding the suggested crop rotation (Fig. 8.12), it contained cotton relay intercropped on wheat system (Zohry 2005), three-crop sequence system (sugar beet, rice, and then fahl clover ; Sheha et al. 2014) and two-crop sequence (full season clover followed by maize).

Fig. 8.12
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Suggested crop rotation in the salt-affected soil of the third agro-climatic zone of Egypt

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Water requirements for prevailing and suggested crop rotations in salt-affected are presented in Table 8.9. The results in that table indicated that 1539 m3/ha or 7% saving in the applied irrigation water to the prevailing rotation.

Table 8.9 Water requirements for the prevailing and suggested crop rotations in salt-affected soil of the third agro-climatic zone
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Crop Rotation in Clay Soil

The prevailing crop rotation in the third agro-climatic zone contained the traditional crop sequences, namely wheat followed by maize, full season clover followed by sunflower, and short season clover followed by cotton (Fig. 8.13).

Fig. 8.13
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Prevailing crop rotation in the clay soil of the third agro-climatic zone of Egypt

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In the suggested crop rotation (Fig. 8.14) and in the first section, cowpea intercropped with maize system (Hamd-Alla et al. 2014) is cultivated after wheat.

Fig. 8.14
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Suggested crop rotation in the clay soil of the third agro-climatic zone of Egypt

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In the second section of the crop rotation, another three-crop sequence was cultivated. In this sequence, clover is cultivated in September and harvest in April, soybean is cultivated as an early summer crop in May and harvested in the end of July, and sunflower is cultivated in August and harvested in October before cultivation of the winter crop in November.

In the third section, cotton could be relay intercropped with onion (Zohry 2005) to increase land profitability. In this system, onion plays a vital role in reducing some cotton insects, such as cotton leafworm (Badawy and Shalaby 2015). Detailed description of the system is presented in Chap. 3 (Fig. 8.15).

Fig. 8.15
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Cotton relay intercropped with onion

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Table 8.10 shows that the applied irrigation water to the suggested rotation will be lower than the applied amounts to the prevailing rotation. Implementing the suggested crop rotation could save 907 m3/ha, which amounts to 5% of the applied water to the prevailing rotation.

Table 8.10 Water requirements for the prevailing and suggested crop rotations in clay soil of the third agro-climatic zone
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The Fourth Agro-climatic Zone

Crop Rotation in Sandy Soil

The prevailing crop rotation in the sandy soil of the fourth agro-climatic zone (Fig. 8.16) is similar to the one existed in the second agro-climatic zone with one difference, namely maize is replaced by sorghum. Sorghum is very popular crop in the fourth and fifth agro-climatic zones . It could withstand the high temperature prevailing in these zones. However, cultivation of peanut twice and sugar beet once causes spread of soil nematodes.

Fig. 8.16
figure 16

Prevailing crop rotation in the sandy soil in the fourth agro-climatic zone of Egypt

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In the first section of the suggested crop rotation (Fig. 8.17), sesame replaced peanut as a non-host nematode. In the second section of the rotation, three-crop sequence was implemented where fahl clover cultivation followed peanut cultivation and preceded wheat cultivation.

Fig. 8.17
figure 17

Suggested crop rotation in the sandy soil in the fourth agro-climatic zone of Egypt

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In the third section of the crop rotation, faba bean was followed by cowpea intercropped with sorghum system. Abou-Keriasha et al. (2011) indicated that sorghum yield was increased under intercropping it with cowpea by 8%, compared to sole sorghum planting. Furthermore, associated weeds with sorghum were decreased by 81%, compared to sole planting of sorghum. The existence of cowpea is very important as a feed summer crop in this rotation. Description of the system is presented in Chap. 6).

Implementing the suggested crop rotation in the sandy soil of the fourth agro-climatic zone could result in saving the applied irrigation water for the prevailing crop rotation by 6%, which amounts for 972 m3/ha, compared to the applied amount for the prevailing rotation (Table 8.11).

Table 8.11 Water requirements for the prevailing and suggested crop rotations in sandy soil of the fourth agro-climatic zone
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Crop Rotation in Clay Soil

The crops cultivated in the prevailing crop rotation contained two legume crops, namely full season clover and faba bean. Furthermore, sorghum is preceded by wheat, where both are cereal crops (Fig. 8.18).

Fig. 8.18
figure 18

Prevailing crop rotation in the clay soil in the fourth agro-climatic zone of Egypt

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In the first section of the suggested crop rotation, full season clover was followed by sunflower intercropped with tomato system (Chap. 7, Abdel 2006). In the second section of the rotation, three-crop sequence was cultivated, where fahl clover was cultivated between sorghum and wheat. In the third section of the rotation, faba bean was followed by soybean intercropped with maize system (Chap. 3; Sherif and Gendy 2012) (Fig. 8.19).

Fig. 8.19
figure 19

Suggested crop rotation in the clay soil in the fourth agro-climatic zone of Egypt

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Irrigation water saving by 3068 m3/ha could be attained when the suggested rotation is implemented. This amount represents 14% of the applied water to the prevailing crop rotation (Table 8.12).

Table 8.12 Water requirements for the prevailing and suggested crop rotations in clay soil of the fourth agro-climatic zone
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The Fifth Agro-climatic Zone

Crop Rotations for Sugarcane

Crop rotation in the fifth agro-climatic zone is called sugarcane rotation because sugarcane is the main crop in it. In this rotation, sugarcane occupies one half of its area. The rotation contains six sections and implemented in eight years, where there are two preliminary years. These two preliminary years allow the farmers to produce new cane every year to produce good quality sugarcane.

In the first preliminary year, new cane introduced in the rotation, whereas in the second preliminary year, the first ratoon is produced from the cane cultivated in the first preliminary year, and new cane is introduced in the underneath section. In the first year of the rotation, second ratoon is produced from the first ratoon cultivated in the second preliminary year, and new cane is introduced in the underneath section. This procedure continues to the end of the rotation. Thus, in the first year of the rotation and after the two preliminary years, new cane, first and second ratoon exist in each year.

Sugarcane plants are grown under surface irrigation with 60% application efficiency, which consumes large amount of irrigation water not only because it has long growing season, but also it has large above-ground biomass. Cultivation on raised beds is not suitable for sugarcane plants because of its large above-ground biomass.

In Egypt, sugarcane could be cultivated twice as a fall or spring crop. The fall sugarcane is cultivated in September and October and harvested after 16 months. Fallow exists before the new cane in each year of the rotation (Fig. 8.20).

Fig. 8.20
figure 20

Prevailing fall sugarcane crop rotation in the fifth agro-climatic zone of Egypt

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The spring sugarcane is cultivated in February and March and harvested after 12 months. In this rotation, clover is cultivated and harvested before new cane cultivation, where two cuts of clover can be harvested (Fig. 8.21).

Fig. 8.21
figure 21

Prevailing spring sugarcane crop rotation in the fifth agro-climatic zone of Egypt

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To increase land and water productivity in both fall and spring sugarcane rotation, intercropping systems could be implemented with sugarcane. Sugarcane offers a unique potential for intercropping because it is planted in wide rows (100 cm) and takes several months to develop its canopy, during which time the soil and solar energy go to waste (Nazir et al. 2002). The growth rate of sugarcane during its early growth stages is slow, with leaf canopy providing sufficient uncovered area for growing another crop (Watto and Mugera 2015). In this case, the intercropped crop will not need any extra irrigation water as it will use the applied water to sugarcane to fulfill its required water . Furthermore, intercropping on sugarcane provide extra income for farmers during the early growth stage of sugarcane.

In the suggested fall crop rotation (Fig. 8.22), faba bean, onion, or wheat could be intercropped on the new cane. In faba bean intercropping with sugarcane system (Fig. 8.23a), faba bean is cultivated in October in two rows with 50% of its recommended planting density (Farghly 1997). Intercropping with faba bean has the greatest potential to fix nitrogen (Shoko and Tagwira 2005). Since nitrogen fertilizer is a substantial cost component of sugarcane cropping system, the use of faba bean as a secondary crop in the system plays a considerable role in reduction of production costs (El-Geddawy et al. 1988).

Fig. 8.22
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Suggested fall sugarcane crop rotation in the fifth agro-climatic zone of Egypt

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Fig. 8.23
figure 23

Faba bean intercropped with sugarcane (a) and wheat intercropped with sugarcane (b)

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Regarding onion intercropped with sugarcane, the system is very successful in south Egypt. Hossain et al. (2004) stated that onion exerted the least detrimental effect on the emergence and tillering of sugarcane and final yield of sugarcane. Higher yield of cane due to intercropping with onion was reported as it reduces the incidence of some insects in sugarcane (Parashar et al. 1979). In this system, onion is planted in October in two rows with 80% of its recommended planting density (Zohry 1997).

Another successful intercropping system for wheat is intercropping with sugarcane (Fig. 8.23b). In this case, wheat will not need any extra irrigation water as it will use the applied water to sugarcane to fulfill its required needs for water . Furthermore, intercropping wheat on sugarcane provides extra income for farmers during the early growth stage of sugarcane. Under intercropping wheat with sugarcane system (Fig. 8.4), sugarcane is cultivated in September and wheat is cultivated in November with 40% of its recommended planting density and then wheat is harvested in April. This system produces 40% of wheat yield with no reduction in sugarcane yield (Ahmed et al. 2013).

In the suggested spring sugarcane rotation (Fig. 8.24), intercropping with new sugarcane could be implemented, where soybean, sesame, or sunflower is intercropped. Intercropping soybean with sugarcane (Fig. 8.25a) is a common practice by the farmers in this area (Abou-Keriasha, et al. 1997). According to Sundara (2000), soybean is one of the important intercrop suitable and compatible with sugarcane. This is mainly due to the fact that soybean has adapted well to the climatic conditions in this area. Details of this system are presented in Chap. 7.

Fig. 8.24
figure 24

Suggested spring sugarcane crop rotation in the fifth agro-climatic zone of Egypt

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Fig. 8.25
figure 25

Soybean intercropped with sugarcane (a) and sunflower intercropped with sugarcane (b)

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In intercropping sesame with spring sugarcane system, the competition over solar radiation between sesame plants and sugarcane plants was low and does not negatively affect sugarcane yield because of the morphological characteristics of sesame leaves being erect and does not cause any shading over the growing sugarcane plants. Sesame’s recommended planting density is 50% in its intercropping system with sugarcane (Abou-Keriasha et al. 1997).

El-Gergawi et al. (2000) intercropped sunflower with sugarcane (Fig. 8.25b). However, Abou-Keriasha et al. (1997) indicated that competition over solar radiation between sunflower plants and sugarcane plants was high because sunflower plants are longer than sugarcane plants in that growth stage.

The results in Table 8.13 indicated that both the prevailing and the suggested fall sugarcane rotation consumed 1,887,523 m3 of irrigation water in the eight years of its duration. However, this amount of water is used to irrigate 70 crops in the prevailing rotation and 78 crops in the suggested rotation. For that reason, the suggested rotation has higher water productivity, in addition to having higher land productivity due to the implemented intercropping systems .

Table 8.13 Water requirements for the prevailing and suggested fall sugarcane rotations in the fifth agro-climatic zone of Egypt
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Likewise, in the prevailing spring sugarcane rotation (Table 8.14), the 78 crops cultivated in it consumed 1,746,635 m3 of irrigation water . Whereas, the suggested spring sugarcane rotation consumed the same amount of irrigation water by 86 crops cultivated in it. Thus, the suggested rotation has higher water productivity and land productivity.

Table 8.14 Water requirements for the prevailing and suggested spring sugarcane rotations in the fifth agro-climatic zone of Egypt
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Conclusion

In overpopulated countries like Egypt, there is a gap between production and consumption of cereal crops, oil crops, sugar crops, legume crops, and forage crops. Thus, unconventional procedures are needed to increase crops productivity, manage irrigation water more efficiently, and increase crops production in short time. This magic solution could be attained by implementing crop rotation that includes intercropping systems . Thus, sustainable use of land and water resources could be attained by implementing crop rotations .

Different soil types in each agro-climatic zone required different crops in each rotation. Improving soil properties could be obtained by inclusion of legume crops in the rotation and/or implementing intercropping systems with legume crop as companion crop. Water saving occurs as a result of implementing intercropping systems on raised beds with the suggested crop rotation. Our analysis showed that increasing the number of crops included in the rotation through intercropping system could consume less amount of water , compared to the amount consumed by the prevailing rotations in all the agro-climatic zones of Egypt .