<P> Growing the same crop in the same place for many years in a row ( Monocropping ) disproportionately depletes the soil of certain nutrients . With rotation , a crop that leaches the soil of one kind of nutrient is followed during the next growing season by a dissimilar crop that returns that nutrient to the soil or draws a different ratio of nutrients . In addition , crop rotation mitigates the buildup of pathogens and pests that often occurs when one species is continuously cropped , and can also improve soil structure and fertility by increasing biomass from varied root structures . </P>
what happens to the soil after growing cereal crops repeatedly in the same field
depletes the soil of certain nutrients