my essay
Bacteria are unicellular and ultra-microscopic organisms, yet they play an important role in nature. They are of tremendous importance to man. They play an important role in agriculture and medicine and are the basis of many industries. Some are beneficial to man directly or indirectly, others are very harmful as they cause various plant and animal diseases. Bacteria are considered as our friends and foes due to their beneficial and harmful activities. Their economic importance can be studied under two aspects:
(A) Beneficial aspects.
(B) Harmful aspects.
(A) Beneficial Aspects:
The beneficial activities of the bacteria can be classified as follows:
(1) Role in agriculture.
(2) Role in industry and medicine.
(1) Role in Agriculture:
The activities of bacteria are very important in agriculture in the following aspects:
(a) Decaying of organic substance:
Most of the bacteria are very useful in bringing about decomposition of dead organic matter of plants and animals by the secretion of enzymes. The enzymes convert the fats, carbohydrates and nitrogenous compounds into simpler forms, such as, CO2 water, ammonia, hydrogen sulphide, phosphates, nitrates etc that are used as raw material by the green plants. Thus, these bacteria not only decompose the organic compounds but also remove the harmful waste from the earth and thus function as nature's scavengers.
{b) Fertility of the soil:
Some bacteria maintain and others increase the fertility of the soil. They bring about physical and chemical changes in the soil by converting insoluble materials into soluble ones. These bacteria are the ammonifying, nitrifying and the nitrogen fixing Bacteria.
(i) Ammonifying Bacteria:
The decay bacteria decompose the proieinous compounds into amino acids, which are reduced to ammonia by ammonifying bacteria. The free ammonia combines in the soil to form ammonium salts. This conversion is known as ammonification. Examples are Bacillus ramosus, B.
(A) Beneficial aspects.
(B) Harmful aspects.
(A) Beneficial Aspects:
The beneficial activities of the bacteria can be classified as follows:
(1) Role in agriculture.
(2) Role in industry and medicine.
(1) Role in Agriculture:
The activities of bacteria are very important in agriculture in the following aspects:
(a) Decaying of organic substance:
Most of the bacteria are very useful in bringing about decomposition of dead organic matter of plants and animals by the secretion of enzymes. The enzymes convert the fats, carbohydrates and nitrogenous compounds into simpler forms, such as, CO2 water, ammonia, hydrogen sulphide, phosphates, nitrates etc that are used as raw material by the green plants. Thus, these bacteria not only decompose the organic compounds but also remove the harmful waste from the earth and thus function as nature's scavengers.
{b) Fertility of the soil:
Some bacteria maintain and others increase the fertility of the soil. They bring about physical and chemical changes in the soil by converting insoluble materials into soluble ones. These bacteria are the ammonifying, nitrifying and the nitrogen fixing Bacteria.
(i) Ammonifying Bacteria:
The decay bacteria decompose the proieinous compounds into amino acids, which are reduced to ammonia by ammonifying bacteria. The free ammonia combines in the soil to form ammonium salts. This conversion is known as ammonification. Examples are Bacillus ramosus, B.