Major Soil of India

Soil is defined as the thin layer of earth’s crust made up of disintegrated and decomposed rocks, complex mineral compound, organic matter, water/air and living organism like bacteria, fungi, insects and worms and serves as the natural medium of growth of plants.

It provides nutrients, moisture, anchorage (support) and provides air to root system. There are different soil groups found in varied regions of India. Each group differs from other in physical and chemical properties. The variation in behavior is mainly due to the nature of the parent material from which the soils are formed. Parent materials are Igneous rocks, sedimentary rocks and metamorphic rocks. Physical properties like structure, texture, colour, water holding capacity, depth etc. are to be noted. Chemical properties like the presence of various plant elements, pH, EC, CEC, acidic or alkaline, etc. are considered.

Table of Contents

Classification of Soil : based on taxonomy

Order : Entisols Suborder : Fluvents
Great Group : Torrifluvents Subgroup : Typic Torrifluvents
Family : Fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, calcareous, Typic Torrifluvents
Series : Jocity, Youngston.

Here are list of Major Soil of India:

Alluvial soil (Entisols, Inceptisols and Alfisol)
Black soil (Vertisol)
Red soil (Alfisol)
Laterite soil (Ultisol)
Desert soil (Aridisol)
Forest soil and hill soil, peat and marshy soils
Problem soils (saline, alkali, acid)

1 – Alluvial soil or Indo-Gangetic Alluvium

This is the most extensive soil found in India. Out of total area of India, 48.0 m.ha comes under river alluvium. These soils include deltaic alluvium, calcareous alluvium and coastal alluvium. Alluvial soils are formed by transportation in streams and rivers and are deposited in flood plains or along the coastal belts. Newly formed alluvium may not have distinct soil horizons while older alluvium may have soil horizons. They occur in the basins of Indus, Ganges, Brahmaputra, Godavari, Krishna, Cauvery and Tambiraparani deltas spread in U.P., Bihar, West Bengal, Gujarat, Punjab, Rajasthan, Andhra Predesh,Tamil Nadu.

Newer alluvium is called as Khadar, is sandy, light colour and less Kankar nodules. Older
alluvium is called as Bhangar, full of clay, dark colour and more Kankar nodules. Alluvial soils of high altitude are acidic in nature and plains are neutral to alkaline. Alluvial soils of plains are medium in phosphorous content and high in potassium content. Generally, alluvial soils are rich in nutrients and are fertile and they support good crop growth with plenty of water. Many crops including vegetable are cultivated in river alluvium. Crops like rice, wheat, cotton, maize, sugarcane, vegetables, jute, oil seeds, millets, pulses and fruits are cultivated in these soil.

2-Black soil

Dark-grey in colour due to clay-humus complex. Area around 32.0 m.ha is under this soil. This soil is also called black cotton soil, mixing of soil along the entire column with Montmorillonite clay. Cotton grows very well with water available in soil. Black soil holds more moisture and available for a long time. Found in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, South Orissa, South and Coastal Andhra Pradesh, North Karnataka and parts of Tamil Nadu. Black soil contains high proportion of clay (30-40%), so, the water holding capacity is high. Typical characteristics of this black soil are swelling (during wet period) and shrinkage (dry period). While dry, it forms very deep cracks of more than 30-45 cm. In Kovilpatti (Tamil Nadu) areas the cracks may extend to 2 to 3 m with a width of 1 to 6 cm. Field preparation takes longer time compared to other soil. Only after secondary tillage, the soil is suited for crop production. The soils are fine grained contain high proportion of Calcium and Magnesium carbonates. They are poor in N, medium in P and medium to high in K (Characteristic feature of typical Indian soil).

In Tamil Nadu Black soils have high pH (8.5 to 9) and are rich in lime (5-7%), have low
permeability. The soils are with more cation exchange capacity (40-60 m.e./100 g). Crops grown inthis soil are cotton, bengal gram, mustard, millets, pulses, oil seeds (sunflower, safflower) are commonly grown in this soil. Most of the soils come under rainfed areas.

3-Red soil

Based onthecolour(duetopresenceofferricoxides)itiscalled asredsoil.Around30m.ha are found in India. They are formed from granites and other metamorphic rocks. Mostly found in semi-arid areas and the colour varies from red to yellow. The soil is light textured, with Kaolinite type of clay. Well drained with moderate permeability. Low cation exchange capacity and lowwater holding capacity. Red soil is present in Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, North and East of Arunachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Parts of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. They are shallow in depth because they are degraded or drained soil. Lesser clay and more sandy than Vertisol. Red soil is always in acidic nature. Highly suitable for groundnut crop cultivation. Crops like millets, pulses, oil seeds (ground nut, gingelly, castor) and tuber crops like cassava are commonly cultivated.

4-Laterite soil

Laterite soils are formed due to the process of laterisation.i.e., leaching of all cations leaving Fe and Al oxides. Mostly found in hills and foothill areas.This soil is formed under high intensive down pour of rainfall. It is modified form of red soil, clay content is minimum. Rich in organic matter content and rich in fertility and medium water holding capacity. They become very hard when there is no water. The cohesive nature is high. Acid loving crops (Plantation crops) and fruits (pineapple, avacado) are more cultivated. Tea, rubber, pepper, spices are cultivated. At lower elevation places, rice is grown.

5-Desert soil

Found in desert regions of Rajasthan (Thar desert), parts of Haryana and Punjab of India. More sand is foundand sand dunes are common. Clay content is < 8%only. Poor fertility, poor water holding capacity and susceptible to soil erosion. Presence of sodic salts (high Na content) leads to alkalinity. Crops like date palm, cucumber, milletsare cultivated (countries like Saudi Arabia,UAE, Jordan, Sudan etc).

6-Peaty and Organic soil

Thesesoilsareveryrich inorganicmatter. Found inKerala, coastalregionsofWestBengal, Orissa, South and East coast of Tamil Nadu. Deposition of organic matter by the elevated soil.Peaty and organic soil is not suitable for majority of crops.Rice is mostly cultivated in coastal area in rainy season.

7-Problematic Soil

Problematic soil further classified into two groups :

Saline Soil
Alkaline Soil
Acid Soil

a- Saline soil:

Contain excess amounts of neutral soluble salts dominated by chlorides and sulphates of Na, Ca and Mg affects plant growth. White encrustation of salts and hence called white alkali. These soils are characterized by, EC: 4 dSm-1 at 25°C, ESP: < 15; pH; < 8.5. This soil needs leaching and drainage before cropping for amelioration.

High salt tolerant: Sesbania, Rice, sugarcane, oats, berseem, lucerne, indian clover & barley.
Medium salt tolerant: Castor, cotton, sorghum, pearlmillet, maize, mustard & wheat.
Low salt tolerant: Pulses, peas, Sunnhemp, gram, linseed and sesame.

b- Sodic / Alkali soils:

High content of carbonates and bicarbonates of Na. Hence, they are with high exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP) with dark encrustation, hence called as black alkali. These soils are rich in NaHCO3and characterized by pH: > 8.5; EC : < 4 dSm-1; ESP : > 15. Use gypsum (CaSO4, 2H2O) as amendment for reclamation of sodic alkali soils. Iron pyrites (FeS2), bulky organic manures (especially green manure) and crop residues which produces weak organic acids.

Tolerant crops: Karnal/rhodes/para/bermuda grass,rice and sugarbeet.
Semi–tolerant: Wheat, barley, oats, berseem and sugarcane.
Sensitive: Cowpea, gram, groundnut, lentil, peas and maize.

c-Acid soils:

These are low pH with high amounts of exchangeable H+and Al. Occur in regions with high rainfall. Significant amount of partly decomposed organic matter exist. Have low CEC and high base saturation. Liming and judicious use of fertilizers are the management measures suggested. Suitable crops: Acedophytes (like potato)

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