What does planting the same crops on the same soil for many years cause?
1 Answer
The soil to become depleted of certain nutrients and mineral.
Explanation:
plants need minerals and nutrients in order to grow.
planting the same crops will draw the same nutrients out of the soil. Over time the minerals and nutrients needed for that particular plant will be depleted and that crop will no longer grow well in that soil.
An example was the pineapple crop in Hawaii. The pineapple crop grew well for a number of years and then the pineapple started to grow poorly and turned yellow. Essential minerals for the pineapple like potassium had been used up and the pineapple could not grow well.
Corn uses up large amounts of nitrates out of the soil. Crop rotation growing legumes that replace the nitrates puts nitrates back in the soil. The other alternative is to use large amounts of fertilizers.
Planting the same crops year after year will deplete the soil of the minerals and nutrients that crop needs to grow.
