TYPES OF SOILS IN INDIA YOU MUST KNOW
-NAGA SPURTHI
INTRODUCTION
As a horticulture or agriculture student we must identify the soils in order to know the productivity and other properties of soil. Here are the top soils and their easy identification :
1: Alluvial soil (43%)
Colour: Light Grey to Ash Grey.
Texture: Sandy to silty loam or clay.
Rich in: potash
Poor in: phosphorous.
Crops : Wheat, rice, maize, sugarcane, pulses, oilseed etc are cultivated mainly.
Area : covers 143 sq.km in India . Widespread in northern plains and river valleys.
Properties. : Humus, lime and organic matter are present and highly fertile.
Examples: Indus-Ganga-Brahmaputhra plain, Narmada-Tapi plain etc
Commonly known as : depositional soil -transported and deposited by rivers, streams etc..,.
Additional info : New alluvium is termed as Khadar and old alluvium is termed as Bhangar.
2. RED SOIL (18.5%).
Colour: Red because of Ferric oxide. The lower layer is reddish yellow or yellow.
Rich in : Iron.
Poor : lime, phosphate, manganese, nitrogen, humus and potash.
Texture: Sandy to clay and loamy.
Examples: Wheat, cotton, pulses, tobacco, oilseeds, potato etc..,.
Found at :Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, MH, AP, MP, Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand,Bihar, WB, UP.
Commonly as : Omnibus group.
3. BLACK SOIL
Colour: Deep black to light black.
Texture: Clayey.
Rich in: Iron, lime, calcium, potassium, aluminum and magnesium.
Poor in: Nitrogen, Phosphorus and organic matter.
Found at :Gujarat, MH, Karnataka, and MP and on the Deccan lava plateau and the Malwa Plateau.
Crops : cotton, wheat, jowar, castor, sunflower and millets.
Additional info: Swells and becomes sticky when wet and shrinks when dried.
Self-ploughing is a characteristic of the black soil as it develops wide cracks when dried.
4: LATERITE SOIL :
Colour: Red colour due to iron oxide
Rich in: Iron and Aluminum
Poor in: Nitrogen, Potash, Potassium, Lime, Humus.
Crops: Rice, Ragi, Sugarcane and Cashew nuts are cultivated mainly.
Found at : Karnataka, Kerala, TN, MP, AP and TG and the hilly areas of Odisha and Assam.
Additional info:
Name from Latin word ‘Later’ which means Brick.
Become so soft when wet and so hard when dried.
In the areas of high temperature and high rainfall.
5. Desert / arid soil
Texture: Sandy
Colour: Red to Brown.
High salt content.
Lack of moisture and Humus.
Nitrogen is insufficient and Phosphate is normal.Kankar or Impure Calcium carbonate content is high which restricts the infiltration of water
Seen under Arid and Semi-Arid conditions.
6: Peaty / marshy soil:
Areas : heavy rainfall and high humidity.
Growth of vegetation : very less.
A large quantity of dead organic matter/humus which makes the soil alkaline.
Heavy soil with black colour.
7. Forest soil:
Regions of high rainfall.
Humus content is less and thus the soil is acidic.
8.Mountain soil:
In the mountain regions of the country.
Immature soil with low humus and acidic.
# So let me know in the comment section which type of soil you identified in your area don't forget to mention your area too….and mine is red soil from wanaparty, telangana.
Awesome work
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