Question

How is clay soil useful for crops?

Answer 1

Hint: Clay soil has different sizes of particles of soil compared to other types of soils. Crops require regular supply of water and essential minerals in order to grow.

Complete step by step solution:
- Clay is a specific type of soil that has very fine particles of soil.
- As the particles of clay soil are very fine and small in size, they have some special characteristics that differ from normal types of soil. Let’s see which special characteristics make them useful for crops.
- As the particle size is very fine in clay soil, it has the ability to retain or absorb more amounts of water. This makes it easy for the crops to access water as it is very essential for the growth of the plant. Some of the crops need a high amount of water in order to grow, so they are only grown in clay soils.
- Another characteristic of clay soil is that it is rich in organic matter. So, it provides essential compounds and minerals to the crop so that they can grow better. That’s why clay soil is useful for the growth of crops.

Additional Information:
- Clay soil also has some other specific properties which are described here. Clay soil becomes swollen when wetted and shrinks when the drying process is made.
- Normally, clay soils are rich in terms of Potassium ions. In terms of Phosphate ions, they have it in less amounts than required by plants, so they have deficiency of phosphate ions.


Note: Do not get confused with the word ‘crop’ as is just means a plant that can be harvested and it can give some profit to the owner. Remember the fact that as the particle size of the soil gets smaller, its ability to trap water increases.