^5 



Fig. 3« Any vegetable cropping pattern involving a single, double or 

 triple crop, or complex intercrop will interact vrith the biological, 

 physical, and socio-economic factors and the type of available techno- 

 logy. The degree of interaction measured in terms of biological and 

 economic productivity depends on the farmer's skill in integrating and 

 manipulating these factors. The crop management approach seeks to 

 integrate a cropping pattern with the available resources, production 

 technologies, and skills which ultimately result in better nutrition, 

 improved farm income, and a balanced ecology (68, 9^). 



In developing countries, fertilizers constitute a major cost in 

 vegetable production for marginal farmers. Cost of high analysis ferti- 

 lizer is often beyond their means (122). As chemical fertilizers become 

 more expensive, researchers are developing methods to reduce rates of 

 application through improved crop and soil management systems (?! , 72, 

 75 J 1^3). Increasing fertilizer use efficiency also can be achieved 

 through efficient year-round cropping patterns (21, 33. ^3» 52, 124). 

 For example, sq^uash, cucumber, carrot, lettuce, and onion required no 

 additional fertilizer when planted after tomato on full-bed plastic 

 mulch (21, 3^. ^3)- Similarly, English pea and southern pea were not 

 fertilized when planted after barley in a triple cropping pattern (5I , 

 52). 



This study was conducted to determine and evaluate the influence 

 of crop and fertilizer management levels sind their interactions on 

 producti'/ity, income, and soil nutrient stability in four vegetable 

 cropping patterns, and to develop appropriate crop and fertilizer 

 management practices for sequential cropping systems for North Florida. 



