Dryland Agriculture in Eastern Asia

Dryland agriculture is widely conducted in semiarid and subhumid regions of the world. Large areas are found in eastern Asia, involving large parts of China and the entire country of Mongolia. Typical continental and distinct monsoon climate as basic properties characterize eastern Asia. This chapter presents the newly developed tillage systems on the drylands in eastern Asia. In the dryland regions, different intercropping and interplanting systems have been used. In the dryland areas, soil fertility is different from soil to soil, and for the same soil, it varies from one place to another depending on natural conditions and human activities. Eastern Asia has vast dryland areas and a long history of crop cultivation, but it also has a multitude of pests causing damage to the crops. Although crop production losses by diseases have been confined to certain areas, places, and to crops, the diseases are still problems greatly influencing crop production.