91Ó°ÊÓ

Plants obtained their mineral nutrients from the soil through roots. Various macronutrients and micronutrients are essential for the overall growth and development of plants. Some elements are required in bulk whereas the plant requires a very small amount of other elements.

Plants cannot fix nitrogen from the atmosphere directly. Some soil microbes help in nitrogen fixation. This is called biological nitrogen fixation because other living organisms are involved in this process.

The process is environmentally friendly because it does not require any nonrenewable sources and any artificial mode to fix nitrogen from the surrounding. Nitrogen is also natural gas and is present in abundance in nature. After the use of nitrogen by the plant, the gaseous nitrogen also moves back to the atmosphere by decomposers and other microorganisms. Therefore, this process is natural as well as environmentally friendly.