Clover for Enriching the Soil.
It baa long been known that clover enriches soils, so that crops following are benefitted by them, but it was not until 1886 that it was discovered that this was due to the action of the bacteria which attack the roots of these plants, causing them to form tubecles or colonies of bacteria. These bacteria absorb some of the nitrogen from the air and make it available to clover plants. The nitrogenous material thus formed is in part left in the roots, and is later decomposed by process of nitrification, and in thia way made available to other crops following the clover. It is therefore possible to grow clover and the other legumes on soils containing little or no organic matter, provided it contains the other essential elements which arc necessary to clover as well ss to other crops. When clover, or any legume, is grown on soil naturally well supplied with nitrogen,which becomes available by nitrification, it undoubtedly uses this nitrogen just as other crops do, and probably does not fix as much nitrogen from the air. In fact, under such conditions, clover probably removes nitrogen from the soil as other crops do. But the nitrogenous material of the clover root is readily nitrified, and made available to- other crops. Moreover, the effect of the clover root on the physical condition of the soil is very beneficial.
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King Country Chronicle, Volume III, Issue 155, 13 May 1909, Page 3
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233Clover for Enriching the Soil. King Country Chronicle, Volume III, Issue 155, 13 May 1909, Page 3
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