Multiple cropping

In agriculture, multiple cropping is the practice of growing successive crops during a single growing season. The term double cropping is also widely used, since for field crops it is most unusual to get more than two crops per year.

Multiple cropping is widely practiced in vegetable production, where it is possible to grow a cool-season crop (such as lettuce) in the spring, follow with a warm-season crop (such as tomatoes) in the summer, and then grow a winter crop (such as mâche) harvested in early spring.

Multiple cropping is less common with field crops because the timing is difficult to manage, particularly since most crop-growing regions experience a good deal of rainfall during the late spring and early summer season, which interrupts fieldwork.

The practice of underseeding a grain crop with a legume or perennial grass is not considered multiple cropping, since all the crops involved grow at the same time rather than in agricultural succession.

A related practice, companion planting, is sometimes used in gardening and intensive cultivation of vegetables and fruits.