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.
