Digging Deeper: Can Crop Rotations Outperform Fertilizers Under Drought Conditions?

Overview

Fertilizers are responsible for 2% of global CO₂ emissions. Fertilizers also fuel rapid algae growth that produce harmful blooms in the water. They can also negatively impact the moisture and nutrient intake in the soil, especially during droughts. To address this issue, our project explores crop rotations, a soil cultivation method, and fertilizer alternative. Our project’s focus was to observe how crop rotations compared to fertilizers under drought conditions. We grew arugula in simulated drought and non drought conditions, in four soil variants - two of which with cover crops grown previously. We found that the arugula in cover crop soil, rather than fertilizer soil, had higher biomasses. Replacing and reducing the use of fertilizers with sustainable options such as crop rotations is vital for the future of agriculture, the health of freshwater ecosystems, and the overall reduction of global emissions.

Awards (1)

• Selected for CWSF 2026

Competition history

• CWSF 2026 Agriculture, Fisheries & Food

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