Explanation: The black soil is generally clayey, deep and impermeable. They swell and become sticky when wet and shrink when dried.

• So, during the dry season, these soils develop wide cracks. Thus, there occurs a kind of ‘self-ploughing’.
• Because of this slow absorption and loss of moisture, the black soil retains the moisture for a very long time, which helps the crops, especially the rain fed ones, to sustain even during the dry season.

Source: NCERT – Fundamental of Physical Geography