Pedology or Soil Geography and Agriculture Gk Questions

Correct Answer:-C ( leaching )
Description:-  Laterite has been derived from the Latin word ‘later’ which means brick. The laterite soil develops in areas with high temperature and heavy rainfall. This is the result of intense leaching due to heavy rain. Humus content of the soil is low because most of the micro organisms, particularly the decomposers, like bacteria, get destroyed due to high temperature.

Correct Answer:-B ( Capillary water )
Description:-  Capillarity is the primary force that enables the soil to retain water, as well as to regulate its movement. The phenomenon of capillarity also occurs in the soil. In the same way that water moves upwards through a tube against the force of gravity; water moves upwards through soil pores, or the spaces between soil particles. Gravitational water occupies the larger soil pores (macro pores) and moves down readily under the force of gravity. Water in excess of the field capacity is termed gravitational water. Gravitational water is of no use to plants because it occupies the larger pores. It reduces aeration in the soil.

Correct Answer:-D ( Blackish brown )
Description:-  Loam encompasses a variety of soil types, some granulated and nicely draining, while others may be thicker and have the consistency of mud. Most loam soils are a brown or black colour, making them ideal for gardens. It is often the most preferred type for plant growth and does well with just about any species. Large plants and trees, including maples and poplars, are both commonly found growing in loam soil. Loam is a combination of small rock particles, organic matter and nutrients, often in ideal combinations for healthy plant growth. The granular soil retains water very easily, yet the drainage is well. Loamy soil is composed of 40 %’ sand, 40%’ silt and 20%’ clay.

Correct Answer:-B ( temperature is high and rainfall is heavy )
Description:-  Laterites are soil types rich in iron and aluminium, formed in hot and wet tropical areas. Nearly all laterites are rusty-red because of iron oxides. They develop by intensive and long-lasting weathering of the underlying parent rock. Tropical weathering (laterization) is a prolonged process of chemical weathering which produces a wide variety in the thickness, grade, chemistry and ore mineralogy of the resulting soils.

Correct Answer:-D ( Terracing )
Description:-  In agriculture, a terist is a piece of sloped plane that has been landscaped into a series of successively receding flat surfaces or platforms, which resemble steps, for the purposes of more effective farming. This type of landscaping, therefore, is called terracing. Graduated terrace steps are commonly used to farm on hilly or mountainous terrain. Terraced fields decrease erosion and surface runoff, and are effective for growing crops requiring much water, such as rice.

Correct Answer:-D ( potash )
Description:-  Tobacco is a crop that needs significant amounts of potassium. It is a fast growing plant, between 80 and 150 days, with a high daily potassium requirement. Potash is the common name for various mined and manufactured salts that contain potassium in water-soluble form. In some rare cases, potash can be formed with traces of organic materials such as plant remains, and this was the major historical source for it before the industrial era.

Correct Answer:-A ( Black )
Description:-  Cotton needs a soil with a excellent water holding capacity and aeration and good drainage as it cannot withstand excessive moisture and water logging. The major groups of soils for cotton cultivation are the alluvial soils, black soils, and red sand loam. Black cotton soils are inorganic clays of medium to high compressibility and form a major soil group in India. They are characterized by high shrinkage and swelling properties. This Black cotton soils occurs mostly in the central and western parts and covers approximately 20%’ of the total area of India.

Correct Answer:-C ( Chernozem soils )
Description:-  Chernozem or black earth variety of soil is rich in organic matter in the form of humus. It is generally a modified type of loess. True chernozem is black in color, but there are various grades, shading off into gray and chestnut-brown soils. It forms in areas that have cold winters, hot summers, and rapid evaporation of precipitation; generally only tall grass is found native on chernozem.

Correct Answer:-A ( humus )
Description:-  The distribution of mountain soils is subject mainly to a vertical (elevation) zonation; the soils change with ascent into the mountains depending on changes in climatic conditions. Most mountain soils form on very steep slopes where, as a result of denudation processes, their shallowness, gravel-like quality, and wealth of primary minerals may be observed. Mountain soils are those which are found in depressions and valley basins or on slightly inclined mountain slopes. It consists of sandstones, clay, shales and limestones. It has the maximum humus content and is thus, very fertile. It is found in Himalayan regions and north-east india..

Correct Answer:-D ( Shifting agriculture )
Description:-  Shifting cultivation is an agricultural system in which plots of land are cultivated temporarily, then abandoned. It is also known as slash and burn cultivation. This system often involves clearing of a piece of land followed by several years of wood harvesting or farming, until the soil loses fertility. Once the land becomes inadequate for crop production, it is left to be reclaimed by natural vegetation, or sometimes converted to a different longterm cyclical farming practice. The ecological consequences are often deleterious. Shifting agriculture has frequently been attacked in principle because it degrades the fertility of forestlands of tropical regions..

Correct Answer:-B ( Shelter belt )
Description:-  In arid zones, the harsh conditions of climate and the shortage of water are intensified by the strong winds. Living conditions and agricultural production can often be improved by planting trees and shrubs in protective windbreaks and shelterbelts which reduce wind velocity and provide shade. Windbreaks and shelterbelts, which are considered synonymous in this manual, are barriers of trees or shrubs that are planted to reduce wind velocities and, as a result, reduce evapo-transpiration and prevent wind erosion; they frequently provide direct benefits to agricultural crops, resulting in higher yields, and provide shelter to livestock, grazing lands, and farms.

Correct Answer:-A ( Deflation )
Description:-  Deflation is a decline in general price levels, often caused by a reduction in the supply of money or credit. Deflation can also be brought about by direct contractions in spending, either in the form of a reduction in government spending, personal spending or investment spending. Deflation has often had the side effect of increasing unemployment in an economy, since the process often leads to a lower level of demand in the economy.

Correct Answer:-B ( Terrace cultivation )
Description:-  Terrace farming is a type of farming that was developed first by the Inca people. This method of farming uses “steps”, called andenes that are built into the side of a mountain or hill. On each anden, various crops are planted, and when it rains, instead of washing away all of the nutrients in the soil, the nutrients are carried down to the next level. Additionally, these “steps” prevent a free flowing avalanche of water that would take plants with it and destroy the all of the crops on the hillside.

Correct Answer:-B ( sweet jowar )
Description:-  Sweet potato may be grown either on hills or beds. Rows need to be spaced 90-120 cm apart with plants spaced 30-40 cm apart in the row. It is known in Nepal as ‘sakar kand.’ It is grown both in the terai and the mid-hills throughout the country. It is the second most important root crop after potato in terms of production and area.

Correct Answer:-C ( Fallowing )
Description:-  Fallowing, in agriculture, is the mode of preparing land, by ploughing it a considerable time before it is ploughed for seed. As a result of fallowing, parts of the soil become better incorporated, and thus reciprocally ameliorated; so that they may afford more uniform nourishment to the roots of plants

Correct Answer:-C ( Rice )
Description:-  Rice is a major crop grown in most tropical and semi tropical regions. Rice being a tropical and subtropical plant, requires a fairly high temperature, ranging from 20° to 40°C. it requires an average temperature of about 24ºC.

Correct Answer:-C ( Tropical shrub )
Description:-  Coffee grows between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. When grown in the tropics, coffee is a vigorous bush or small tree that usually grows to a height of 3–3.5 m (10–12 feet).

Correct Answer:-C ( soil conservation )
Description:-  Contour ploughing is the farming practice of ploughing across a slope following its elevation contour lines. The rows form slow water run-off during rainstorms to prevent soil erosion and allow the water time to settle into the soil

Correct Answer:-A ( cotton )
Description:-  Black soils, locally called regard or black cotton soils, and internationally known as ‘tropical black earths’ or ‘tropical chernozems’ have been developed by the weathering of the Deccan lava in India. They are highly retentive of moisture, extremely compact and tenacious when wet, considerably contracted developing deep wide cracks on drying and selfploughing and are credited with high fertility of crops like cotton.

Correct Answer:-B ( decaying organic matters in soil )
Description:-  Humus refers to the decomposed and partly decomposed organic matter or animal and vegetation originally present in the soil.

Correct Answer:-B ( Sedimentary rock )
Description:-  The significant quantity of upper soil is formed by Sedimentary rock.

Correct Answer:-A ( Tree plantation/afforestation )
Description:-  Soil erosion in a desert region can be checked by tree plantation and afforestation.

Correct Answer:-B ( Pasture land )
Description:-  (ii), (iii) and (iv)

Correct Answer:-C ( Humus )
Description:-  The organic matter present in soil is known collectively as humus. Humus is fully decomposed and finely divided organic matter. Dune is a hill or ridge of sand accumulated and sorted by wind action.

Correct Answer:-D ( Red and yellow )
Description:-  Red Soil is also known as yellow soil. Red soils are formed as a result of the draining down of old crystalline rock, less clayey and sandier in nature. Red clay soil are used for the production of bricks.

Correct Answer:-D ( Afforestation )
Description:-  Afforestation is the establishment of a forest or stand of trees in an area where there was no forest. As plant roots hold the soil, Afforestation prevents soil erosion and enables better retention of water.

Correct Answer:-B ( Laterite soil )
Description:-  Laterisation is a form of chemical weathering that involves oxidation, carbonation and leaching. This natural process results in the formation of Laterite soils.

Correct Answer:-A ( Laterite )
Description:-  Leaching refers to the loss of water-soluble plant nutrients from the soil, due to rain and irrigation. Laterite soils are formed soils under conditions of high temperature and heavy rainfall with alternate wet and dry periods. They are leached and are, thus, less fertile.

Correct Answer:-A ( Edaphic factors )
Description:-  Edaphic is a nature related to soil. Edaphic qualities may characterize the soil itself, including drainage, texture, or chemical properties such as pH. Edaphic may also characterize organisms, such as plant communities, where it specifies their relationships with soil.

Correct Answer:-B ( plantation agriculture )
Description:-  Plantation agriculture is a form of commercial farming where crops are grown for profit. Usually, only one type of crop is grown in a plantation. Common examples include rubber, coffee, tea, bananas, sugar cane, oil palm, cocoa and tobacco.