Adding manure and fertilisers

• The substances which are added to the soil in the form of nutrients for the healthy growth of plants are called manure and fertilisers.

• These nutrients are essential for the growth of plants.
• Continuous growing of crops makes the soil poorer in certain nutrients. Therefore, farmers have to add manure to the fields to replenish the soil with nutrients. This process is called manuring.
• Manure is an organic substance obtained from the decomposition of plant or animal wastes. The decomposed matter is used as organic manure.
• Fertilisers are chemical substances which are rich in a particular nutrient.
• Another method of replenishing the soil with nutrients is through crop rotation.
• Crop rotation is growing of different crops alternately in the same field.

Advantages of Manure:

• The organic manure is considered better than chemical fertilisers.
• It enhances the water holding capacity of the soil.
• It makes the soil porous due to which exchange of gases becomes easy.
• It increases the number of friendly microbes.
• It improves the texture of the soil.