Fruchtfolgen mit und ohne Leguminosen: ein Review.

In organic farming, legumes are indispensable for the nitrogen supply of arable crops and the protein supply of livestock due to their ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen. In conventional farming, legumes offer the potential to break the often cereal-intensive crop rotations. One of the most important consequences of the break-crop effect is the interruption of the life cycle of crop-specific pathogens and the associated savings of pesticides. This review summarizes the current state of knowledge on crop rotations with and without legumes. It presents and evaluates the agronomic, ecological and economic effects of the cultivation of large- and small-seeded legume species as main or catch crops, when undersown in other crops, or used as components in mixtures. The focus is on relevant publications in scientific journals as well as practice and research reports published between 2010 and 2020 which were carried out in Germany or under comparable climatic conditions. Finally, essential research needs in the areas of crop production (conventional and organic), crop pro tection, economics, ecology, and climate protection are identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]