Environmental benefits of pulses
Fun fact! Pulses which are dry edible seeds in the legume family such as chickpeas or lentils can improve soil fertility. This is because nitrogen-fixing bacteria in pulses transform nitrogen from the atmosphere into fixed nitrogen compounds such as ammonia which can be used by plants and imparted to the soil, reducing the need for fertilizer. When utilized in crop rotation, pulses help increase the soil microbial biomass and the fixed nitrogen will benefit subsequent crops.
Photo © iStockphoto.com/Alasdair Thomson
Pulses which are dry edible seeds in the legume family such as chickpeas or lentils can improve soil fertility. This is because nitrogen-fixing bacteria in pulses transform nitrogen from the atmosphere into fixed nitrogen compounds such as ammonia which can be used by plants and imparted to the soil, reducing the need for fertilizer. When utilized in crop rotation, pulses help increase the soil microbial biomass and the fixed nitrogen will benefit subsequent crops.
