A New Mathematical Model for the Deterministic Crop Rotation Planning Problem

The objective of the crop rotation planning problem addressed in this paper is to maximize the total net return. An integer linear programming model is formulated which optimizes the crop rotation plans using the branch and bound algorithm. The model considers the maximum allowable frequency for planting each crop during the rotation cycle in each plot. The proposed model incorporates a novel timing preference constraint, along with the agronomic, water availability and seasonal demand restrictions. An analysis has been performed to simultaneously visualize the temporal and spatial variations during the rotation cycle.