RAS question
Which soil type is common in the Dungarpur-Banswara and parts-of-Udaipur belt of Rajasthan and is reddish because of rich iron-oxide content?
Correct answer: (B) Red and Yellow soil.
Red and Yellow soil is common in the Dungarpur-Banswara and parts-of-Udaipur belt of southern Rajasthan, with its reddish colour linked to iron-oxide weathering.
Explanation
The Dungarpur-Banswara-Udaipur-Chittorgarh belt is classified as Red and Yellow soil, or red loam. The Government of Rajasthan, Udaipur Division, Rajasthan: Agri Value Chain Knowledge Paper Series places Udaipur, Banswara and Dungarpur within Udaipur Division and describes its agriculture belt as having predominantly reddish, medium-textured, well-drained soils, with shallow soils on hills, deeper soils in valleys and alluvial patches in plains. The reddish colour comes from weathering of underlying gneiss and schist, which releases iron oxides. This soil is low in nitrogen, phosphorus and calcium and supports maize, rice and sugarcane, which helps separate it from black cotton soil, laterite soil and alluvial soil in the options.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Black cotton soil, or Regur, is associated with south-eastern Rajasthan around Kota, Bundi and Jhalawar, not with the southern Dungarpur-Banswara-Udaipur belt described here.
- (C) Laterite soil forms under high-rainfall tropical wet-dry conditions such as the Western Ghats and Kerala, whereas this Rajasthan belt is red loam rather than laterite.
- (D) Alluvial soil is found in eastern Rajasthan, while the question asks for the reddish soil common in the southern Banswara-Udaipur belt.
Concept
This tests Rajasthan's regional soil distribution and the link between soil colour, parent rock and crop suitability. It recurs in RAS because soil questions connect physical geography with agriculture in a compact, map-based way.