In protected vegetable systems of the Mediterranean area, rotations are based on a limited number of species and botanical families. In the long term, this favours the development of soil pests and diseases.

In order to diversify rotations, a workshop brought together DiverIMPACTS case study 25 (CS25) participants including farmers, technicians, marketers and scientists, to highlight the importance of: 1) including summer crops of variable cycle length in order to allow the implementation of soil solarisation (thermal soil disinfection based on solar energy); 2) including green manures at different times of the year; 3) choosing species that allow cycle shifts to desynchronize pest cycles but also that take advantage of market opportunities.

By relying on these principles, it is possible to design rotations that are more favourable to the preservation of soil health while taking into account the organisational constraints of a farm and economic opportunities.