Sealing and crusting of soil surfaces have dramatic eects on water in®ltration into and runo from soils, thereby greatly in¯uencing erosion processes. This study focused on the eect of the initial stage of crusting on inter-rill erosion processes for a crust-prone Al®sol sampled from south-central India. Soil aggregates ranging from 2 . 4 to 8 mm collected from ploughed (PL) and naturally vegetated (NV) treatments were subjected to rainfall simulation under laboratory conditions. Runo from PL soil aggregates was 2±2 . 5 times higher, while percolation was 20±100% lower, than for NV aggregates. Soil wash and splash losses were 0 . 5±3 times greater for PL than for NV soil. Runo and inter-rill erosion were signi®cantly higher during the wet simulation run compared with the dry run. The results indicated that NV soil aggregates were more resistant to breakdown from raindrop impact and slaking, and subject to less rapid sealing, than PL soil. Total soil loss was in¯uenced most by initial aggregate stability and the extent of seal development. Splash and wash losses of soil both increased as a result of surface sealing regardless of soil condition for short (30±60 min) rainfall durations. High drying rates resulted in the highest crust bulk densities. Increased crust strength for PL soil compared with NV soil re¯ected the greater susceptibility of cultivated soil to surface sealing and crusting.