Soil Conservation & Water Management PDF
TYPES OF SOIL
Alluvial soil:
• Meaning: This soil has been formed due to depositions by the river during flood. Hence called
they are depositional soil – transported and deposited by rivers, streams etc.
• Rich content of: Potash
• Poor content of: Nitrogen, phosphorous and humus
• Colour: Light Grey to Ash Grey.
• Texture: Sandy to silty loam or clay.
• Crops: Wheat, rice, maize, sugarcane, pulses, oilseed etc are cultivated mainly.
• Found in: Plains of Gujarat, Punjab, Haryana, UP, Bihar, Jharkhand etc
• Fertility: Highly fertile.
• New alluvium is termed as Khadar and old alluvium is termed as Bhangar.
Red soil:
• Meaning: Red soil is a group of soil that develops in a warm, temperate, moist climate under
deciduous or mixed forests and that have thin organic and organic-mineral layers overlying a
yellowish-brown leached layer resting on an illuvial red layer.
• 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.
• Crops: Red gram, green gram, castor seed, etc.
• Found in: Tamil Nadu, South-eastern Karnataka, North-eastern and South-eastern Madhya
Pradesh, Jharkhand the major parts of Orissa, and the Hills and Plateaus of North-east India.
• Fertility: Friable and medium fertile
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Soil Conservation & Water Management PDF
Black soil:
• Meaning: They are formed as the result of solidification of lava which covered and spread into
large areas at the time of some volcanic activity in Deccan Plateau. This soil is also known as
Regur or Black Cotton soil.
• Rich content of: Iron, lime, calcium, potassium, aluminum and magnesium
• Poor content of: Nitrogen, Phosphorous and organic matter.
• Colour: Deep black to light black.
• Texture: Clayey
• Crops: Chilly, cotton, tobacco, jowar, cashew
• Found in: Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh,Tamil Nadu, Valleys of Krish-
na and Godavari.
• Fertility: High water retaining capacity
Laterite soil:
• Meaning: Laterite soil is a kind of clayey rock or soil formed under high temperature and high
rainfall. By various modifications, laterite converted into red coloured lateritic soils charged with
iron nodules.
• Rich in: Iron oxide and potash
• Deficient in: Lime, phosphate & Nitrogen
• Colour: Red because of Ferric oxide.
• Become so soft when wet and so hard when dried.
• Crops: Tea, coffee, rubber, cinchona, coconut, cashew
• Found in: Kerala, Karnataka, Chota Nagpur region of Jharkhand, Orissa and Assam.
• Fertility: Less fertile but when manured can be used for cash crops.
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Soil Conservation & Water Management PDF
Forest and Mountain Soil:
• Meaning: Forest soils are formed in the forest areas where sufficient rainfall is available. The
soils vary in structure and texture depending on the mountain environment where they are
formed.
• Rich content of: Humus
• Poor content of: potash, phosphorus and lime
• Texture: Thin & soils of mountainous regions are very susceptible to soil erosion.
• Crops: tea, coffee, spices & tropical fruits; wheat, maize, barley & temperate fruits
• Found in: Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Sikkim, Assam
• Fertility: Not very fertile.
Arid and Desert Soil:
• Meaning: These soils are found in regions having low rainfall. It is found in desert areas of
temperate and tropical zones. The desert soils consist of aeolian sand (90 to 95 per cent) and
clay (5 to 10 per cent)
• Texture: Sandy
• Rich in: Phosphate
• Deficient in: Nitrogen, Soluble Salts
• Crops: Barley, rape, cotton, wheat, millets, maize and pulses
• States: Western Rajastan, north Gujarat and southern Punjab
• Fertility: Less fertile and only drought resistant crops can be grown
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Soil Conservation & Water Management PDF
Saline and Alkaline Soil:
• Meaning: These soils are liable to saline and alkaline efflorescences and are known by differ-
ent names such as reh, kallar, usar, thur, rakar, karl and chopan.
• Rich content of: sodium, magnesium and calcium salts and sulphurous acid
• Poor in: drainage capacity
• Texture: Sandy to loamy sandy
• Found in: Rajasthan Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana, Punjab and Maharashtra
• Fertility: Infertile
Peaty and Marshy Soil:
• Meaning: Peaty soils originate in humid regions as a result of accumulation of large amounts
of organic matter in the soils.
• Colour: Black
• Rich in: A large quantity of dead organic matter/humus which makes the soil alkaline
• Deficient in: potash and phosphate
• Crops: when properly drained and fertilized, good for crops such as rice.
• Found in: western regions of Kottayam district and Alappuzha district of Kerala
• Fertility: Heavy & Acidic
• Most of the peaty soils are under water during the rainy season but as soon the rains cease,
they are put under paddy cultivation.
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