Soils in India

Soils in India are broadly classified into:

1. Alluvial soil [43%]
2. Red soil [18.5%]
3. Black / regur soil [15%]
4. Arid / desert soil
5. Laterite soil
6. Saline soil
7. Peaty / marshy soil
8. Forest soil
9. Sub-mountain soil

Types of Soils	States where found	Rich in:	Lacks in:	Crops grown
Alluvial	Mainly found in the plains of Gujarat,  Punjab, Haryana, UP, Bihar, Jharkhand etc.	Potash and Lime	Nitrogen and Phosphorous	Large variety of rabi and kharif crops such as wheat, rice, sugarcane, cotton, jute etc.
Black (Regur soil)	Deccan plateau- Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh,Tamil Nadu, Valleys of Krishna and Godavari.	Lime, Iron, Magnesia and Alumina, Potash	Phosphorous, Nitrogen and organic matter	Cotton, sugarcane, jowar, tobacco, wheat, rice etc.
Red	Eastern and southern part of the deccan plateau, Orissa, Chattisgarh and southern parts of the middle Ganga plain.	Iron and Potash	Nitrogen, Phosphorous and humus.	Wheat, rice, cotton, sugarcane and pulses
Laterite	Karnataka, Kerala, Tamilnadu, Madhya Pradesh, Assam and Orissa hills.	Iron oxide and potash	Organic matter, Nitrogen, Phosphate and Calcium	Cashewnuts, tea, coffee, rubber
Arid and Desert	Western Rajastan, north Gujarat and southern Punjab	Soluble salts, phosphate	Humus, Nitrogen	Only drought resistant and salt tolerant crops such as barley, rape, cotton, millets maize and pulses
Saline and Alkaline	Western Gujarat, deltas of eastern coast, Sunderban areas of West Bengal, Punjab and Haryana	Sodium, Potassium, Magnesium	Nitrogen and Calcium	Unfit for agriculture

• Mostly available soil in India (about 43%) which covers an area of 143 sq.km.
• Widespread in northern plains and river valleys.
• In peninsular-India, they are mostly found in deltas and estuaries.
• Humus, lime and organic matters are present.
• Highly fertile.
• Indus-Ganga-Brahmaputhra plain, Narmada-Tapi plain etc are examples.
• They are depositional soil – transported and deposited by rivers, streams etc.
• Sand content decreases from west to east of the country.
• New alluvium is termed as Khadarand old alluvium is termed as Bhangar.
• Colour: Light Grey to Ash Grey.
• Texture: Sandy to silty loam or clay.
• Rich in: potash
• Poor in: phosphorous.
• Wheat, rice, maize, sugarcane, pulses, oilseed etc are cultivated mainly.

• The bhabar belt is about 8-16 km wide running along the Shiwalik foothills. It is a porous, northern most stretch of Indo-Gangetic plain.
• Rivers descending from the Himalayas deposit their load along the foothills in the form of alluvial fans.These alluvial fans (often pebbly soils) have merged together to build up the bhabar belt.
• The porosity of bhabar is the most unique feature. The porosity is due to deposition of huge number of pebbles and rock debris across the alluvial fans.
• The streams disappear once they reach the bhabar region because of this porosity. Therefore, the area is marked by dry river coursesexcept in the rainy season.
• The area is not suitable for agriculture and only big trees with large roots thrive in this belt.

• Terai is an ill-drained, damp (marshy) and thickly forested narrow tract(15-30 km wide) to the south of Bhabar running parallel to it.
• The underground streams of the Bhabar belt re-emerge in this belt. It is a swampy lowland with silty soils.
• The terai soils are rich in nitrogenand organic matter but are deficient in phosphate.
• These soils are generally covered by tall grasses and forests but are suitable for a number of crops such as wheat, rice, sugarcane, jute etc..
• This thickly forested region provides shelter to a variety of wild life.

• The Bhangar is the older alluvium along the river beds forming terraces higher than the flood plain (about 30 metres above the flood level).
• It is of a more clayey composition and is generally dark colored.
• A few metres below the terrace of the bhangar are beds of lime nodules known as “Kankar”.

• The Khadar is composed of newer alluvium and forms the flood plains along the river banks.
• The banks are flooded almost every year and a new layer of alluvium is deposited with every flood. This makes them the most fertile soils of Ganges.
• They are sandy clays and loams, more dry and leached, less calcareous and carbonaceous (less kankary). A new layer of alluvium is deposited by river flood almost every year.

• Seen mainly in low rainfall area.
• Also known as Omnibus group.
• Porous, friable structure.
• Absence of lime, kankar (impure calcium carbonate).
• Deficient in: lime, phosphate, manganese, nitrogen, humus and potash.
• Colour: Red because of Ferric oxide. The lower layer is reddish yellow or yellow.
• Texture: Sandy to clay and loamy.
• Wheat, cotton, pulses, tobacco, oilseeds, potato etc are cultivated.

• Regur means Reguda(in Telugu) – best soil for cotton cultivation.
• Most of the Deccan is occupied by Black soil.
• Mature soil.
• High water retaining capacity.
• Swells and will become sticky when wet and shrink when dried.
• Self-ploughing is a characteristic of the black soil as it develops wide cracks when dried.
• Rich in:Iron, lime, calcium, potassium, aluminum and magnesium.
• Deficient in:Nitrogen, Phosphorous and organic matter.
• Colour:Deep black to light black.
• Texture: Clayey

• 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.
• Formed as a result of high leaching.
• Lime and silica will be leached away from the soil.
• Organic matters of the soil will be removed fast by the bacteria as it is high temperature and humus will be taken quickly by the trees and other plants. Thus, humus content is low.
• Rich in: Iron and Aluminum
• Deficient in: Nitrogen, Potash, Potassium, Lime, Humus
• Colour: Red colour due to iron oxide.
• Rice, Ragi, Sugarcane and Cashew nuts are cultivated mainly.

• Seen under Arid and Semi-Arid conditions.
• Deposited mainly by wind activities.
• High salt content.
• Lack of moisture and Humus.
• Kankar or Impure Calcium carbonate content is high which restricts the infiltration of water.
• Nitrogen is insufficient and Phosphate is normal.
• Texture: Sandy
• Colour: Red to Brown

• Areas of heavy rainfall and high humidity.
• Growth of vegetation is very less.
• A large quantity of dead organic matter/humus which makes the soil alkaline.
• Heavy soil with black color.

• Regions of high rainfall.
• Humus content is less and thus the soil is acidic.

• In the mountain regions of the country.
• Immature soil with low humus and acidic.

• In Saline and Alkaline Soils, the top soil is impregnated(soak or saturate with a substance) with saline and alkaline efflorescence (become covered with salt particles).
• Un-decomposed rock fragments, on weathering, give rise to sodium, magnesium and calcium salts and sulphurous acid.
• Some of the salts are transported in solution by the rivers.
• In regions with low water table, the salts percolate into sub soil and in regions with good drainage, the salts are wasted away by flowing water.
• But in places where the drainage system is poor, the water with high salt concentration becomes stagnant and deposits all the salts in the top soil once the water evaporates.
• In regions with high sub-soil water table, injurious salts are transferred from below by the capillary action as a result of evaporation in dry season.

• In Saline and Alkaline Soils, the top soil is impregnated(soak or saturate with a substance) with saline and alkaline efflorescences (become covered with salt particles).
• Undecomposed rock fragments, on weathering, give rise to sodium, magnesium and calcium salts and sulphurous acid.
• Some of the salts are transported in solution by the rivers.
• In regions with low water table, the salts percolate into sub soil and in regions with good drainage, the salts are wasted away by flowing water.
• But in places where the drainage system is poor, the water with high salt concentration becomes stagnant and deposits all the salts in the top soil once the water evaporates.
• In regions with high sub-soil water table, injurious salts are transferred from below by the capillary action as a result of evaporation in dry season.

Soil erosion (Himalayan region, Chambal Ravines etc.), deficiency in fertility (Red, lateritic and other soils), desertification (around Thar desert, rain-shadow regions like parts of Karnataka, Telangana etc.),

Waterlogging (Punjab-Haryana plain) salinity and alkalinity (excessively irrigated regions of Punjab, Haryana, Karnataka etc.),

Wasteland, over exploitation of soils due to increase in population and rise in living standards and encroachment of agricultural land due to urban and transport development.