Read the following passage carefully and answer the given questions.
Biofertilisers
Biofertilisers are organisms that enrich the nutrient quality of the soil and their main sources are bacteria, fungi and cyanobacteria. You have studied about the nodules on the roots of leguminous plants formed by the symbiotic association of Rhizobium. These bacteria can fix atmospheric nitrogen into organic forms. Other bacteria can also fix atmospheric nitrogen while free-living in the soil (examples Azospirillum and Azotobacter). Fungi are also known to form symbiotic associations with plants (mycorrhiza). Many members of the genus Glomus form mycorrhiza. Plants having such associations show other benefits also, such as resistance to root-borne pathogens, tolerance to salinity and drought, and an overall increase in plant growth and development. Cyanobacteria are autotrophic microbes widely distributed in aquatic and terrestrial environments many of which can fix atmospheric nitrogen, e.g. Anabaena, Nostoc, Oscillatoria, etc. In paddy fields, cyanobacteria serve as an important biofertiliser. Blue green algae also add organic matter in to the soil and increase its fertility. Currently, in our country, a number of biofertilisers are available commercially in the market and farmers use these regularly in their fields to replenish soil nutrients and to reduce dependence on chemical fertilisers.
Choose the free living, nitrogen-fixing bacteria from the following.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Azospirillum
Option (1) Glomus — Incorrect. Glomus is a fungus, not a bacterium. It forms mycorrhiza with plant roots and helps the plant absorb phosphorus.
Option (2) Rhizobium — Incorrect. Rhizobium does fix nitrogen, but it is symbiotic, not free-living. It fixes nitrogen inside the root nodules of leguminous plants.
Option (3) Azospirillum — Correct. Azospirillum, like Azotobacter, is a bacterium that fixes atmospheric nitrogen while free-living in the soil. In this way it adds nitrogen to the soil.
Option (4) Mycorrhiza — Incorrect. Mycorrhiza is not an organism but an association of a fungus with plant roots. It does not fix nitrogen and it is not a bacterium.
Note 1: The passage is taken from NCERT. NTA has put lines of the NCERT text together to make it. Most CUET (UG) questions come straight from NCERT, so study the book line by line, including figures and their titles.
Note 2: A similar question was also asked in CUET (UG) 2025 on 29-05-2025 (Slot 1), and in CUET (UG) 2023 on 30-05-2023 (Slot 1).