Importance of rocks to agriculture
Answers
Rocks are very important for agriculture because of various reasons:
1. Rocks form soil, which is the basis of agriculture. Crops need a medium to grow, and soil is the medium on which cultivation is done.
2. Rocks are the source of minerals. As plants absorb nutrients for their growth, the soil starts losing its nutrients. New soil formed from rocks is essential in adding fresh nutrients back to the soil, preserving its fertility. Minerals derived from rocks can also be purchased and added to the soil as fertilizers.
3. Non-porous rocks help collect groundwater and maintain the water table. Water that seeps into the ground forms the water table only because non-porous rocks do not let the water seep further down. They block the water and let it collect. The same groundwater is used by plants either directly or via irrigation.
Despite these benefits, rocks are also known to cause trouble for farmers, by getting in the way of farming equipment and damaging them. However, this shortcoming does not outweigh their importance in agriculture.