Chapter 12 Improvement of Food Resources Questions-04
Question
1. Compare the use of manure and fertilizers in maintaining soil fertility.
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Answer
Use of manure in maintaining soil quality:
(i) Manures are the very rich source of organic matter (humus) for the soil. Humus helps to restore water retention capacity of sandy soil and drainage in clayey soil.
(ii) Manures are the sources of soil organisms like soil friendly bacteria.
Use of fertilisers on soil quality
(i) Excess use of fertilisers cause to dryness of soil and hence the rate of soil erosion increases.
(ii) Continuous use of fertilisers decreases the organic matter which reduce the porosity of the soil and the plant roots do not get sufficient oxygen.
