<P> Monoculture is the agricultural practice of producing or growing a single crop, plant, or livestock species, variety, or breed in a field or farming system at a time . Polyculture, where more than one crop is grown in the same space at the same time, is the alternative to monoculture . Monoculture is widely used in both industrial farming and organic farming and has allowed increased efficiency in planting and harvest . </P> <P> Continuous monoculture, or monocropping, where the same species is grown year after year, can lead to the quicker buildup of pests and diseases, and then rapid spread where a uniform crop is susceptible to a pathogen . The practice has been criticized for its environmental effects and for putting the food supply chain at risk . Diversity can be added both in time, as with a crop rotation or sequence, or in space, with a polyculture . </P> <Table> Diversity of crops in space and time; monocultures and polycultures, and rotations of both . <Tr> <Th_colspan="3"> </Th> <Th_colspan="3"> Diversity in time </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Low </Th> <Th_colspan="2"> Higher </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Cyclic </Td> <Td> Dynamic (non-cyclic) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Diversity in space </Td> <Td> Low </Td> <Td> Monoculture, one species in a field </Td> <Td> Continuous <P> monoculture, </P> <P> monocropping </P> </Td> <Td> Crop rotation <P> (rotation of monocultures) </P> </Td> <Td> Sequence of monocultures </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Higher </Td> <Td> Polyculture, two or more species <P> intermingled in a field </P> </Td> <Td> Continuous <P> polyculture </P> </Td> <Td> Rotation of polycultures </Td> <Td> Sequence of polycultures </Td> </Tr> </Table>

What are the dangers of relying on one crop