Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
Problem soils (such as acidic, sodic, saline, and waterlogged soils) require specific chemical amendments and management practices to restore their agricultural productivity.
Detailed Explanation:
Let us match each reclamation practice with its target soil or mineral:
- A. Leaching: This involves applying excess water to dissolve and wash soluble salts down below the root zone.
It is the primary reclamation practice for IV. Salt affected soil (specifically saline soils).
- B. Gypsum requirement: Sodic soils contain high levels of exchangeable sodium, which destroys soil structure.
Applying gypsum (\(\text{CaSO}_4 \cdot 2\text{H}_2\text{O}\)) replaces exchangeable sodium with calcium, reclaiming III. Sodic soil.
- C. Jarrosite: Jarosite is a pale-yellow iron-sulfate mineral.
It is a diagnostic marker mineral that forms when pyrite oxidizes in I. Acid sulphate soil.
- D. Liming: Applying agricultural lime (calcium carbonate) neutralizes soil acidity, increasing the pH of II. Acid soil.
- E. Urea briquette: In waterlogged soils (such as flooded rice fields), nitrogen is easily lost through leaching and denitrification.
Placing large urea briquettes deep in the root zone reduces these losses, improving nitrogen-use efficiency in V. Water logged soil.
Combining these pairs yields the sequence:
\[ \text{A - IV}, \ \text{B - III}, \ \text{C - I}, \ \text{D - II}, \ \text{E - V} \]
This matches Option (B).
Step 2: Final Answer:
The correct matching sequence is A - IV, B - III, C - I, D - II, E - V.