Answer:
The correct answer is option a. "the humus contained minerals such as magnesium and iron, needed for the synthesis of chlorophyll".
Explanation:
Plants require magnesium and iron to synthesize chlorophyll. The growing areas of the plants, such as stem, seeds absorb magnesium and use it as magnesium pectate, which gives a ring structure to the chlorophyll. On the other hand, iron is essential to perform photosynthesis, which is the main process that occurs in chlorophyll. A plant without these two minerals, that are in humus, will not be able to have chlorophyll and will have the yellowish color that is described in the question.