Silt a soil texture with more than 80 percent silt. Alternatively, a particle size fraction ie a detrital particle finer than fine sand and coarser than clay, generally in the diameter range of 0.02 to 0.002 mm in international system and of 0.05 to 0.002 mm in USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) system. Actually it is a loose aggregate of rock or mineral particles of silt size. Silt is also an important inorganic constituent of soil particles present in mineral components in the solid phase.

Like sand, silt also originates in soil as weathering products of primary rocks and fragments of rock. Silt is also an integral part of soil texture and is directly related to properties of the soil, like porosity, density, consistency etc. The properties of silt fractions are somewhat intermediary between sand and clay. Because of being finer in size, silt fractions cover large effective surface areas which in turn possess absorptive and retention capacities for holding moisture, gases and nutrients for soil flora and fauna. However, soils having a high proportion of silt are relatively difficult to bring under cultivation. Most floodplain sediments have a silt content. This is specially so in the case of brahmaputra, jamuna and meghna sediments. [Rameswar Mondal]