Editing Vertisol (section)

==Utilization==
When [[irrigation]] is available, crops such as [[cotton]], [[wheat]], [[sorghum]] and [[rice]] can be grown. Vertisols are especially suitable for rice because they are almost impermeable when saturated.{{Citation needed|date=March 2023}} Rainfed farming is very difficult because vertisols can be worked only under a very narrow range of moisture conditions: they are very hard when dry and very sticky when wet. However, in Australia, vertisols are highly regarded, because they are among the few soils that are not acutely deficient in available [[phosphorus]]. Some, known as "crusty vertisols", have a thin, hard crust when dry that can persist for two to three years before they have crumbled enough to permit seeding.

The shrinking and swelling of vertisols can damage buildings and roads, leading to extensive subsidence. Vertisols are generally used for grazing of [[cattle]] or [[sheep]]. It is not unknown for livestock to be injured through falling into cracks in dry periods. Conversely, many wild and domestic ungulates do not like to move on this soil when inundated.  However, the shrink-swell activity allows rapid recovery from compaction.