Question

Beera, wants to practice crop rotation in his field. Suggest a Rabi crop and a Kharif crop which will replenish his field with nitrogen. Which crop replenishes nitrogen and why?

Answer 1

Rabi crops are pea, wheat, mustard whereas kharif crops are paddy, maize, soybean. These crops require different climatic conditions and hence can be grown in two different seasons.

Pea and Soybean are the kharif and Rabi crops that increase the nitrogen content of the soil respectively as they are leguminous plants. These plants form a symbiotic association with Nitrogen fixing bacteria Rhizobium in root nodules. The roots are left in the soil after harvest.