Discuss the Salient features of Major Soil Types of India.
( UPPSC, UP PCS, 2019, 15 Marks)
भारत के प्रमुख मिट्टी प्रकारों की मुख्य विशेषताओं की विवेचना कीजिये।
Answer:
Soil is the result of the interaction between the lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere. It is a dynamic medium where physical and chemical properties of soil change over time, however, based on the texture, process, and color, Indian soils can be classified into the following types:
- Forest Soils
- Alluvial Soils
- Arid Soils
- Black Soils
- Red Soil
- Laterite Soils
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| Major Soils types of India |
Forest Soil:
The following are the characteristics:
- It is made up of forests or plants, hence it is acidic in nature.
- It is generally high in humus and low in phosphorous and Potash.
- Region:
- Himalayan, Arunachal Pradesh, and part of Western and Eastern Ghats.
Alluvial Soils:
The following are the characteristics:
- It is made by the deposition of the river's channel.
- It is poor in nitrogen and Phosphorous but rich in Potash.
- Very fertile and very suitable for wheat, rice, sugarcane, and vegetable cultivation.
- Region:
- Indus, Ganga, Brahaputra basin, and eastern coast of India.
Arid Soils:
The following are the characteristics:
- It is found that evaporation is greater than rainfall and formed by capillary action.
- It is rich in salt.
- Region:
- The western part of India and the shadow zone of western ghats where evaporation is much greater than precipitation.
Black Soils:
The following are the characteristics:
- Black in color due to the presence of Iron.
- The high content of Iron, Aluminum, Magnesium, Potash
- Poor in Nitrogen and Humus Content.
- It is also called regur soil or cotton soil.
- It is suitable for cotton, Coarse grain crops.
- Region:
- Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, MP, Karnataka, and part of Tamilnadu.
Red Soils:
The following are the characteristics:
- Red color because of Iron oxide.
- Poor in nitrogen, Phosphorous, and Potash
- Highly productive if the soil is added.
- Region:
- Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Andra Pradesh, Northeast India.
Laterite Soils:
The following are the characteristics:
- Upper soil is unproductive due to the leaching of minerals because of high rainfall. However, the low soil profile is highly productive and hence suitable for larger plants.
- Humus content is low due to high bacterial activities.
- It is suitable for plantation agriculture such as tea, coffee, Rubber, etc.
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