Q80: Given below are two statements, one is labelled as Assertion... - Soil Physics - Soil Science- ICAR JRF/SRF 2024 | Agrigyan

• Assertion (A) is True: Medium-textured soils (silt loam, loam, and very fine sandy loam) exhibit the highest susceptibility to water erosion (highest soil erodibility factor $K$ in USLE).
• Reason (R) is True: Silt and very fine sand particles lack strong physicochemical cohesion (unlike clay particles) and are too small to resist detached transport (unlike coarse sand), which significantly increases detachment and wash-off.
• Relationship: Because high silt and very fine sand fractions reduce aggregate stability while remaining readily transportable by surface runoff, Reason (R) directly explains Assertion (A).
• Conclusion: Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A) (Option 1).

Correct option: (1) Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A)