MP Board · Class 9 · Science · Improvement in Food ResourcesWhat is crop rotation? Mention two key benefits of practicing crop rotation in agricultural fields.

Crop rotation is the practice of growing different types of crops sequentially on the same piece of land in a pre-planned order over different seasons. This agricultural technique prevents nutrient depletion, as different crops have varying nutrient requirements. Two key benefits of practicing crop rotation are: firstly, it helps in maintaining soil fertility by naturally replenishing soil nutrients (for example, growing legumes restores nitrogen), and secondly, it effectively breaks the life cycles of specific pests, pathogens, and weeds, thereby reducing crop diseases and decreasing dependence on chemical pesticides.