Which practice involves planting specific vegetation during off-seasons to prevent erosion, improve soil health, and suppress weeds?

• A. Aquaculture
• B. Eutrophication
• C. Cover Cropping
• D. IPM

Answer: (C)

Cover cropping involves planting specific vegetation during off-seasons to prevent erosion, improve soil health, and suppress weeds. Keeping the soil covered with living or dead plant matter protects the soil surface from rainfall impact, helps hold soil with roots, and reduces erosion. The added biomass boosts organic matter, enhances soil structure, increases microbial activity, and can improve nutrient cycling. When legumes are used, some nitrogen can be added to the soil, further supporting fertility. The dense cover also shades the soil and competes with weeds, lowering weed pressure and reducing the need for herbicides. This practice supports sustainable soil management between main crops.

Other options don’t fit this soil-protection and weed-suppression role: aquaculture is farming aquatic organisms; eutrophication is nutrient over-enrichment leading to algal blooms; IPM is integrated pest management, a pest-control approach rather than a soil-cover strategy.