Consider the following statements regarding the soils of Madhya Pradesh: 1. Red and yellow soils are found in Baghelkhand. 2. Red and yellow soils are highly fertile. 3. Deep black soil is found in Malwa Plateau. 4. Alluvial soil is found in the north-western part of the State. Which of the above statement(s) is/are correct?
- (a)Only 1 and 2
- (b)Only 2
- (c)Only 2 and 4
- (d)Only 1, 3 and 4
Correct — D, Only 1, 3 and 4. Statement 1 is true: the Baghelkhand region (the Rewa–Satna–Sidhi–Shahdol belt) sits on older granite-gneiss and sedimentary rock, which weathers into red and yellow soil. Statement 3 is true: the Malwa Plateau lies on Deccan Trap basalt, which weathers into deep black (regur/cotton) soil. Statement 4 is true: the north-western part of the state, the Gwalior–Chambal belt, has alluvial soil laid down by that river system. Statement 2 is false, so it is excluded from the correct set.
- (a)Only 1 and 2 — Statement 1 is correct, but statement 2 is false — red and yellow soils are comparatively low in fertility (poor in nitrogen, phosphorus and humus), not 'highly fertile'; this option also wrongly drops the true statements 3 and 4.
- (b)Only 2 — Statement 2 is false — red and yellow soils are not highly fertile — so this option is wrong on its only claim, and it omits the three true statements.
- (c)Only 2 and 4 — Statement 4 is correct, but statement 2 is false, and this option wrongly leaves out the true statements 1 and 3.
Madhya Pradesh's soil cover tracks its underlying geology. Deccan Trap basalt across the Malwa Plateau and adjoining Nimar tract weathers into deep, fertile black (regur/cotton) soil. Older crystalline and sedimentary rock in the Baghelkhand tract weathers into comparatively less fertile red and yellow soil. Rivers of the Gwalior–Chambal belt in the north-west have deposited fertile alluvial soil.
The trap is assuming red-and-yellow soil is automatically fertile because black soil (MP's most famous soil) is prized for cotton and wheat. Anchor the answer to parent rock instead: basalt gives black soil (fertile), older granite-gneiss gives red-yellow soil (less fertile), and river deposition gives alluvial soil (fertile).
- Black (regur) soil — Malwa Plateau & Nimar tract, formed from Deccan Trap basalt
- Red & yellow soil — Baghelkhand region, formed from older granite-gneiss/sedimentary rock; comparatively low fertility
- Alluvial soil — north-western MP (Gwalior–Chambal belt), laid down by the river system there
- In MP, soil type is primarily a function of the underlying parent rock
Three of the four statements are correct (1, 3, 4); only the fertility claim in statement 2 is false.
- Assuming red-yellow soil is 'highly fertile' like black soil
- Mixing up Baghelkhand (red-yellow soil) with Malwa Plateau (black soil)
MPPSC frequently pairs a soil type with a specific MP region in statement-based questions like this one; UPSC tends to ask about soil genesis and properties at the all-India level.
MPPSC_2021_PRE_PaperI_Q52021In which of the following regions of Madhya Pradesh is black soil NOT found?
- (a) Malwa Plateau
- (b) Narmada Valley
- (c) Baghelkhand
- (d) Satpura Range
Answer(c) Baghelkhand
Confirms the same regional fact from the other side — black soil is absent from Baghelkhand, which instead has red & yellow soil, exactly as this question's statement 1 says.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Black (regur) soil, found extensively on the Malwa Plateau of Madhya Pradesh, is formed by the weathering of which rock?
- (a)Deccan Trap basalt
- (b)Granite-gneiss
- (c)Sandstone
- (d)Limestone
Answer(a) Deccan Trap basalt — regur/black cotton soil forms from the weathering of this volcanic rock.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Which of the following soil types is generally associated with LOW fertility, being poor in nitrogen, phosphorus and humus?
- (a)Alluvial soil
- (b)Black soil
- (c)Red and yellow soil
- (d)Deltaic soil
Answer(c) Red and yellow soil — comparatively poor in nitrogen, phosphorus and organic matter.