When growing plants, loosening is an important agricultural technique. What is the physiological meaning

When growing plants, loosening is an important agricultural technique. What is the physiological meaning of this agricultural method?

Loosening is an agricultural technique with the help of which the soil crust is destroyed. It blocks the access of oxygen to plant roots, so they develop slowly and are not able to provide shoots and leaves with nutrients. As a result, the plant gradually withers away. Without access to air, microorganisms living in the soil die and break down organic matter. In addition, the crust promotes the formation of continuous capillaries, through which a lot of water evaporates, and the soil dries quickly. When hot, cracks appear on its surface, in which pests multiply. By loosening all this can be avoided. It is especially important to timely loosen the soil in the initial phases of plant development, when they still consume little water. It is necessary to loosen the soil after each rain, watering.