Soil of India

Types of Soils Indian Council of Agricultural Research set up an All-India Soil Survey Committee, which divided Indian Soil in 8 different categories. Some of which are quite inclusive of a rather wide variety of  soil conditions while others have quite uniform and consistent soil charact eristic throughout. Type

Characteristics Characteristi cs

Places of occurrence

Red soils

Red colour is due to various oxides Red

soil

of iron. They are poor in N, P, K  extensively and with pH varying 7 to 7.5. Pradesh, These soils are light textured with Goa,

  porous structure. Lime is absent Maharastra,

cotton,

Andhra consist of scanty wheat,

pulses,

of

Bihar, thorny and bushy millets, kerala, vegetation

Karnataka, sparce and

West grasses.

soils differ greatly in consistency, Bengal. Most of the red colour,depth and fertility. On the soils have been classified uplands, they are thin, gravelly, in the order ' Alfisols'. It sandy, or stony and porous, light covers in all about 5.18 coloured soils. But on the lower  lakh sq. km of area.   plains and valleys they are rich, deep dark coloured fertile loam.

Special crops

occurs  Natural vegetation Bajra,

Assam,

Parts

with low soluble salts. The red Tamilnadu

in

Vegetation

with groundnuts, local sugarcane,  

potatoes,

fruits.

and

Lateritic

Seen in high rainfall areas, under  These

occurs

most Mixed

Soils

high rainfall conditions silica is extensively and cover an and

evergreen Extensive deciduous under

area Reserve

released and leached down wards area of about 2,48,000 sq. tropical forests.

Forest.

and the upper horizons of soils km. They are distributed

 

  become rich in oxides of iron and in summits of hills of 

scattered. Rubber 

alluminium. The texture is light Daccan karnataka, Kerala,

 

with free drainage structure.

 being tried.

Madhyapradesh,

Ghat

Clay is predominant and lime is regions of Orissa, Andhra deficient. pH 5 to 6 with low in   pradesh, Maharastra and   base exchange capacity, contained also

in

West

Bengal,

more humus and are well drained. Tamilnadu and Assam. These soils are generally poor in N, Most of the laterite soils P, K and organic matters but are have been classified in the responsive

to

nitrogen

and order ' ultisols' and a few

  phosphate mannuring and hence under ' oxisols'.  produce good crops.

Cashew

plantations

plantations

are

are

Alluvial

These are the most important soils These

soils

occupy Cactus,

Soils

from the agriculture point of view. extensive tracts of land in grass,

short Rice, Sugarcane, Palm, Jute,

The soils are sandy loam to clay about 15 lakh sq. km. in Accacia,

 

loam with light grey colour to dark   North-Western and North- Zizyphus,

loving Wheat,

Tobacco,

banana,

colour, structure is loose and more Eastern parts of India and  plants.

oilseeds,

fertile. But the soils are low in include greater parts of 

Vegetables

 NPK and humus.

Fruits.

Rajasthan,

Punjab,

They are well supplied with lime; Haryana, Utter Pradesh,  base exchange capacity is low, pH   North Western part of  ranges from 7 to 8.

Delhi,

Bihar,

Assam,

parts

Parts of

of 

Garo

Hills,West Bengal, Orissa, Parts of M.P & Gujarat, deltaic areas of Godawari, Krishna, and Cauvery in Southern India.

cotton, Maize,

and

Black 

This is well known group of soils These soils cover an area Xerophytic bushy, Cotton,

Soils

characterised by dark grey to black  of about 5,46,000 sq. km. thorny colour with high clay content.

Major

They are neutral to slightly alkaline found

black in

soils

plants, chillies,

are  predominantly

 

wheat, linseed,

jowar,

Maharastra, Zizyphus , trees of  tobacco,

in reaction. Deep cracks develop Madhyapradesh,

Gujarat Accacia Arabica, safflower

Virginia castor, and

during summer, the depth of the and Tamilnadu, Southern date palm, neem, millets. soil varies from less than a meter to Rajasthan and and in U.P.

mango, dhub grass Vegetables

several meters. Poor free drainage

and miscellaneous different

results in the soils, base exchange

 bushes and grass.

of  kinds

and citrus fruits.

is high with high pH and rich in lime and potash. Desert Soils

These soils are mostly sandy to loamy fine sand with brown to yellow brown colour, contains large amounts of soluble salts and lime with pH ranging 8.0 to 8.5.   Nitrogen content is very low. The   presence of Phosphate and Nitrate make the desert soils fertile and  productive under water supply.

They occur under arid and Thin

grass

and Very few crops,

semi-arid conditions and deserted

specially

occupy

millets, jowar and

large

tracts

in xerophytic.

Rajasthan, Haryana and South Punjab.

coarse

 bajra are grown.

Peaty

These soils occur in humid regions Marshy soils are found in ----------------------

On

and

with accumulation of high organic costal tracts of Orissa, in

  paddy is grown

Marshy

matter. During monsoons the soils the Sundarbans and other 

when

Soils

get submerged in water and the   places in West Bengal in

recedes.

water receipts after the monsoon the central portion of north during

which

period

rice

is Bihar,

in

the

Almora

cultivated. Soils are black clay and district of U.P. and in the highly acidic with pH of 3.5. Free South-East alluminium and ferrous sulphate Tamilnadu. are present. The depressions formed by dried rivers and lakes in alluvial and coastal areas sometimes give rise to water logged soils and such soils are blue in colour due to the   presence of ferrous iron. The soils are generally submerged under  water during the monsoon.

coast

of 

these

soils,

water 

Saline

Saline soils contain excess of  Both kinds of salt effected -------------------------------------------

Rice,

and

natural soluble salts dominated by soils occur in different

cotton,

Alkaline

chlorides

sugarcane,

Soils

affects plant growth. Sodic or alkali Uttarpradesh,

and

sulphates

which  

parts

of

soils contain high exchangeable Punjab,

India

Mountai n

coconut

Maharastra,

tobacco.

Gujarat,

Most of these soils are low in lime These soils cover about -------------------------------------------

rainfall, they are rich in humus and Jammu vey fertile for the cultivation.

ant

Rajastan and A.P.

and and are Acedic. In area of good 13,300sq.km

Hill Soils

banana,

Haryana,

sodium salts. Texturally they are Tamilnadu, sandy to loamy sand.

like

wheat,

mainly

and

in

Kashmir,

H.P., Punjab, U.P., Bihar, West

Bengal,

Tripura, Meghalaya,  Nagaland, etc.

Assam, Manipur,

A.P.,

and

Tea,

temperate

fruits

and

may

also be used for  growing paddy.