Question

What types of crops are grown in desert soil?

Answer 1

Hint: Desert soil is characterised by the dry and arid soil which do not contain moisture. The deposition of the organics matter in such kind of soil is very poor and has high content of salts in it. Thus the desert soil has very clumsy vegetation.

Complete answer:
To solve this question, we must first understand the characteristic of the desert soil.
- The desert soil is sandy, rocky and thin. They are generally grey in colour.
- The soil is dry and when it rains, the soil soaks up moisture very quickly.
- Due to the lack of water, the soil appears crusty.
- The organic content is very low in such kind of soil.

From the above characteristics it is already clear that the vegetation that grows in such kind of soil would be able to grow and thrive by using very little water and other organic matter. Some plants like cactus, babool, keekar are adapted to such kind of climate and soil and can thrive excellently due to their adaptations such as spines and fleshy stem which helps in reducing the rate of transpiration.

The crops grown in this soil are bajra, wheat, small grains, water melons, cherries, tomatoes, cucumber, squash, small shrubs, hot peppers, onions, garlics etc.

Note: Some adaptations of the plants growing in desert are-
They have fleshy stem so as to retain moisture.
The leaves are reduced to spines and thorns to minimise water loss.
The plants have extensive tap root system so that they can go deep inside the soil in search of water.