perennial crops
Crops that persist
Perennial crops are plants that live for more than two years and produce harvests across multiple growing seasons without replanting.
Unlike annuals, which must be sown each year, perennials like fruit trees, asparagus, and berry bushes establish root systems that persist through dormancy: The orchard's perennial crops required less labor than the cornfields.
The term often appears in agricultural discussions about sustainability, since perennials can reduce soil erosion and require fewer inputs over time.
- fruit treesCultivated plants bearing edible produce
- apple orchardCultivated fruit tree farm
- green manurePlants tilled into soil
- asparagusEdible green stalk vegetable
- sugarcaneSucrose-yielding tropical grass
long-term investment · harvest season · agroforestry · bamboo · artichokes · deep roots · composting · grapevines · permaculture · plant breeding · nut trees · food forest · intercropping · living mulch · soil health · water retention · seasons · carbon sequestration
- soil conservationerosion control, terracing, strip cropping, conservation tillage, wind erosion
- permaculturefood forest, companion planting, polyculture, zones, swales
- drought survivalcactus, succulent, xerophyte, deep roots, waxy leaves
- starch cropscassava, taro, yam, potato, sweet potato