Question

in order to continually use the same area of land for agriculture, some farmers apply fertilizers to improve the level of nitrates in the soil. an alternative to this intensive use of fertilizer is to plow the roots of the leguminous plants back into the soil and leave the area unplanted for a season. why would a farmer use this alternative method and what would be the benefit of turning over the soil and leaving the old pant roots?

Answer 1

Ploughing and turning over the soil aerates the soil so the roots of plants are able to thrive well. Ploughing the roots of leguminous plants back to the soil returns nutritents and organic matter to the soil organically rather than using synthetic fertilisers which are potentially hazardous to the environment.