Question

Legumes fertilize soil but cereals do not. Comment upon the statement.

Answer 1

Legumes fertilize the soil by enhancing the nitrogen supplying power of cell, increasing the reserve of organic material in soil and increasing soil aeration. Legumes are nitrogen-fixing plants and they fix atmospheric nitrogen by the association of symbolic bacteria within them. A considerable amount of nitrogen is leaked from the roots of legume's nodules into the soil and the crop residues have higher nitrogen content and also breaks down more easily than cereals.