Monoculture refers to the production of a single crop over a large area, usually thousands of acres of land. The practice is used to maximize crop yields per acre; without the competition from other species, plants are able to grow larger and produce more. While yields are greater, the strain on soil nutrients is enormous, and it is difficult to raise organic crops as monocultures.
Popular monoculture crops
Potatoes, wheat, corn, soy, apples, bananas, grapes, palm and timber trees are habitually grown in monoculture circumstances. These crops require extensive use of chemical fertilizers.
Problems with monoculture
Vocal opponents of monoculture include novelist Barbara Kingsolver and food writer Michael Pollan, but scientists habitually decry monocultures as unsustainable. Problems with monocultures include the fast and devastating spread of diseases (potato blight in Ireland; Panama fungus in bananas), the reduction in diversity, and the displacement of local food economies.
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