Home › PYQs › Agriculture › All questions › 2013 · Laterite soil
UPSC Prelims 2013 · Agriculture · Soils
Which of the following statements regarding laterite soils of India are correct?
- They are generally red in colour.
- They are rich in nitrogen and potash.
- They are well-developed in Rajasthan and UP.
- Tapioca and cashew nuts grow well on these soils.
- (a) 1, 2 and 3
- (b) 2, 3 and 4
- (c) 1 and 4
- (d) 2 and 3 only
Show the answer and explanation
Answer: (c) 1 and 4
Red colour ✓ and cashew/tapioca ✓.
Statement by statement
1. ✓ CORRECT Iron oxide gives laterite its red to brick-red colour.
2. ✗ WRONG — poor in both Heavy rain leaches away nitrogen, potash, lime and humus. What is left is rich in iron and aluminium oxides.
3. ✗ WRONG — high-rainfall areas Laterite needs heavy rain and high heat: Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, the Western Ghats and Meghalaya — not dry Rajasthan or the UP plain.
4. ✓ CORRECT With manure they suit cashew, tapioca, tea, coffee and rubber.
Why the others are wrong
(a) Accepts “rich in N and K” and “Rajasthan/UP” — both contradict leaching, the process that makes laterite.
(b) Keeps “rich in N and K” and “Rajasthan/UP” — both contradict how laterite forms: heavy rain LEACHES nutrients, so it can’t form in dry Rajasthan.
(d) Picks the two statements that ignore rainfall. Laterite needs heavy rain; it is poor in N and K and absent in dry Rajasthan.
The trap
Rajasthan and UP are named to test whether you link laterite to RAINFALL. Laterite = leaching = wet tropics.
🔒 Laterite: red · leached (poor in N, K, lime) · rich in iron and aluminium · Kerala, Karnataka, Odisha, Meghalaya · cashew, tapioca.