Question

Manures are particularly beneficial as soil amendments because:

• A. they contain higher concentrations of plant nutrients than most fertilizers
• B. nitrogen contained in manure is less harmful environmentally, than nitrogen contained in fertilizers
• C. they supply organic matter as well as plant nutrients
• D. ammonia gas is readily volatilized from them

Answer 1

Answer: (C)

they supply organic matter as well as plant nutrients

Manure is organic matter, mostly derived from animal feces, except in the case of green manure, which can be used as organic fertilizer in agriculture. Manures contribute to the fertility of the soil by adding organic matter and nutrients, such as nitrogen, that are trapped by bacteria in the soil. Higher organisms, then feed on the fungi and bacteria in a chain of life that comprises the soil food web. It is also a product obtained after decomposition of organic matter like cow dung, which replenishes the soil with essential elements and adds humus to the soil.