SOILS AND

AGRICULTURE
OF INDIA
PART-1
By Dr Vipan Goyal
 Introduction
• Soil is the mixture of rock debris and organic materials,
which develop on the earth’s surface.
• Pedology is the study of soils in their natural environment.
• Pedogenesis is the natural process of soil formation that
includes a variety of processes such as weathering,
leaching, calcification etc..
 Soil Types
• If soil contains greater proportion of big
Sandy particles it is called sandy soil.

• If the proportion of fine particles is relatively

Clayey higher, then it is called clayey soil.

• If the amount of large and fine particles is about

Loamy the same, then the soil is called loamy.
Clayey and loamy soils are both suitable for growing cereals like wheat, and
gram. Such soils are good at retaining water.

For paddy, soils rich in clay and organic matter and having a good capacity
to retain water are ideal.

For lentils (masoor) and other pulses, loamy soils, which drain water easily,
are required.

For cotton, sandy loam or loam, which drain water easily and can hold
plenty of air, are more suitable.
Factors Determining Soils’ Characteristics

• Parent Material
The major • Climate
factors that • Relief
determine soils’ • Vegetation
characteristics • Time and
are • Some other Life-
forms.
Factors Determining Soils’ Characteristics
 Parent rocks
• The rock from which the soil is formed
• Decomposition and disintegration of parent rock under the
processes of weathering
• The characteristics of rocks influence the characteristics of
soils
• Examples: we get black soils From Lava rocks and iron oxide
from red soils
 Climate
• Influence the rate of weathering of rocks
• The crystalline granites produce laterite soil in relatively
moist parts of the monsoonal region and non-laterite soil in
drier areas.
• Hot summer and low rainfall develops black soil as is found
in some parts of Tamil Nadu irrespective of the parent rock.
• In Rajasthan, both granite and sandstone give birth to
sandy soil under arid climate
 Slope/Relief
• The nature of relief and slope influence the accumulation
of soils
• That is why Mountains have thin soil cover but the plains
have thick soil cover
• The areas of low relief or gentle slope generally experience
deposition and have deep soils. Example: Indo-Gangetic
plain.
 Time
• Provides maturity to the soil
• Various forces of nature such as change in
temperature, actions of running water, wind
and glaciers, activities of decomposers etc.
contribute to the formation of soil.
 Natural Vegetation
• The decayed leaf material adds much needed humus
to soil thereby increasing its fertility.

• The densely forested areas contain some of the best

soils in India.
 Constituents

Major • Mineral particles

constituents • Humus
of the soil • Water and
are • Air
Soil Profile
• A soil horizon is a layer generally
parallel to the soil crust, whose
physical characteristics differ
from the layers above and
beneath.
• Soil Horizon is classified into
three categories — Horizon A,
Horizon B, and Horizon C;
collectively known as Soil Profile
(i.e. the arrangement of soil
layers).
Soil Profile
• The uppermost horizon is
generally dark in colour as it is rich
in humus and minerals. The
humus makes the soil fertile and
provides nutrients to growing
plants.
• This layer is generally soft, porous
and can retain more water. It is
called the topsoil or the A-horizon.
Soil Profile
• The next layer has a lesser
amount of humus but more of
minerals. This layer is generally
harder and more compact and is
called the B-horizon or the
middle layer.
• The third layer is the C-horizon,
which is made up of small lumps
of rocks with cracks.
 Classification of Soil
Soils were classified on the basis of

their inherent characteristics and external features

including
texture, color, slope of land, and moisture content in the soil.
 On the basis of • Alluvial soils
genesis, color, • Black soils
• Red and Yellow soils
composition,
• Laterite soils
and location, • Arid soils
the soils of India • Mountain soils
have been • Saline soils
classified as • Peaty soils
 Alluvial soils

Black soils

Red and Yellow soils

Laterite soils

Arid soils

Mountain soils

Saline soils

Peaty soils
 Alluvial Soils
• Alluvial soils are widespread in the northern
plains and the river valleys and cover about
40% of total area of India.
• Alluvial soils are depositional soils, as
transported and deposited by the rivers
streams.
• Highly fertile Riverine soils
• Largest Tract is Satluj Ganga Plains
• Alluvial soils are normally rich in potash, but
poor in phosphorous.
 Alluvial Soils
• The alluvial soils normally vary in nature from sandy,
loamy, to clayey and its color varies from light grey
to ash grey
• In the Upper and Middle Ganga plain, two different
types of alluvial soils are found i.e. Khadar (it is the
new alluvium and is deposited by floods annually)
and Bhangar (it is a system of older alluvium,
deposited away from the flood plains).
• They also occur in deltas of the Mahanadi, the
Godavari, the Krishna and the Cauvery, where they
are called deltaic alluvium (coastal alluvium)
 Alluvial Soils
• Some alluvial soils are found in the Narmada,
Tapi valleys and Northern parts of Gujarat.
• They are best suited for agriculture.
• They are best suited to irrigation and respond
well to canal and well/tube-well irrigation.
• They yield splendid crops of rice, wheat,
sugarcane, tobacco, cotton, jute, maize,
oilseeds, vegetables and fruits.
Alluvial Soils
 Bhabar
• Along the Shiwalik foothills.

• The area is not suitable for agriculture and only big

trees with large roots thrive in this belt.
 Terai
• 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 nitrogen and 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..
 Bhangar
• The Bhangar is the older alluvium
• A few metres below the terrace of the bhangar are
beds of lime nodules known as “Kankar”.
 Khadar
• 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.
 Black Soils
• Formed By solidification of Lava
• Also popular as Regur Soil or the Black
Cotton Soil, Black soil covers most of the
Deccan Plateau; for example, black soil is
found in parts of Maharashtra, Madhya
Pradesh, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, and
Tamil Nadu. (16.6 per cent of the total
area)
 Black Soils
• Black soil is usually clayey, deep, and
impermeable; therefore, it can retain the
moisture for a very long time (very useful for the
crops especially cotton).
• Black soil is rich in lime, iron, magnesia,
alumina, and also potash.
• The color of the black soil varies from deep
black to grey.
• Other major crops grown on the black soils
include wheat, jowar, linseed, virginia tobacco,
castor, sunflower and millets.
 Red & Yellow Soils
• Red soil develops on crystalline igneous rocks in the
areas of low rainfall, especially, in the eastern and
southern parts of the Deccan Plateau.
• Red soil develops a reddish color because of a wide
diffusion of iron in crystalline and metamorphic
rocks. On the other hand, it develops yellow color
when it occurs in a hydrated form.
• The fine-grained red and yellow soils are usually
fertile, whereas coarse-grained soils found in dry
upland areas have poor fertility.
 Red & Yellow Soils
• The red and yellow soils normally have poor content
of nitrogen, phosphorous and humus.
• They are fairly rich in potash and potassium.
• The red colour is due to the presence of iron oxide.
• (10.6 per cent) of the total area of the country.
• These soils are spread on almost the whole of Tamil
Nadu.
 Red & Yellow Soils
• Other regions with red soil include parts of
Karnataka, south-east of Maharashtra, Telangana,
Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh,
Odisha, Chota Nagpur plateau; parts of south Bihar,
West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh; Aravalis and the
eastern half of Rajasthan (Mewar or Marwar
Plateau), parts of North-Eastern states.
• The red soils are mostly loamy and hence cannot
retain water like the black soils.
• The red soils, with the proper use of fertilizers and
irrigation techniques, give good yield of cotton,
wheat, rice, pulses, millets, tobacco, oil seeds,
potatoes and fruits.
 Laterite Soils
• Laterite soils are mostly the end products of
weathering.
• They are formed under conditions of high
temperature and heavy rainfall with
alternate wet and dry periods/ under
monsoon conditions
• Heavy rainfall promotes leaching (nutrients
gets washed away by water) of soil
whereby lime and silica are leached away
and a soil rich in oxides of iron and
aluminium compounds is left behind.
 Laterite Soils
• ‘Laterite’ means brick in Latin. They
harden greatly on loosing moisture.
• Laterite soils are red in color due to
little clay and more gravel of bauxite or
ferric oxides.
• They are very poor in lime,
magnesia, potash and nitrogen.
• Sometimes, the phosphate content may
be high in the form of iron phosphate.
 Laterite Soils
• In wetter places, there may be higher content of
humus.
• When manured and irrigated, some laterites are
suitable for growing plantation crops like tea,
coffee, rubber, cinchona, coconut, areca nut, etc.
• Laterite and lateritic soils provide valuable
building material.
• The laterite soils are commonly found in
Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Madhya
Pradesh, and the hilly areas of Odisha and
Assam.
 Arid Soils
• Found in areas with rainfall<50 cm
• Sandy, porous, coarse & rich in salts
• Generally saline due to high evaporation
• Lower horizons of the arid soils are
occupied by ‘kankar’ layers because of the
increasing calcium content downwards.
 Arid Soils
• Arid soils have poor content of humus and
organic matter.
• Arid soils are typically developed in western
Rajasthan.
• Cereals grown are Jowar, Bajra, Ragi & Oil
seeds
• Drought resistance crops
 Mountain Soils
• Prone to soil erosion and top soil getting washed
away due to the steep slopes of the mountains
after a heavy rainfall
• These soils are mostly thin and infertile
• Rich in humus but deficient in potash,
phosphorous and lime
• Useful for Tea, coffee, spices and tropical fruits
• Found in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh,
Uttaranchal, Assam, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh
 Saline Soils
• Saline soils contain a larger proportion of
sodium, potassium, and magnesium, and
thus, they are infertile, and do not support
vegetation.
• Because of the dry climate and poor
drainage system, saline soil contains more
salt.
• Saline soils are normally found in arid and
semi-arid regions, as well as in
waterlogged and swampy areas.
 Saline Soils
• Highly saline due to dry climate, poor
drainage & high evaporation

• Deficient in nitrogen and calcium, saline

soils are found in western Gujarat, deltas
of the eastern coast, and in Sunderban
areas of West Bengal.
 Peaty Soils
• In the areas of heavy rainfall and high humidity, large
quantity of dead organic matter accumulates and
enrich humus and organic content that forms the
peaty soils.
• Peaty soils are normally heavy and black in color and
widely found in the northern part of Bihar, southern
part of Uttaranchal, and the coastal areas of West
Bengal, Odisha, and Tamil Nadu.
• Decline in soil fertility because of any reason (either
natural or human induced) is known as soil
degradation
 Salinity of soils
• Predominance of Chloride & sulfates of N, Ca & Mg,
Esp. of NaCO3
• Decreases soil fertility
• Addition of Gypsum, Addition of rice husk & rice
straw also counters alkalinity by forming light acids
 Soil Erosion
• Washing away of topmost fertile layer of the soil
by the action of wind or water
• “Soil erosion is essentially a problem created
by man and also faced by man himself.”
• Water erosion leads to rilling, gullying, sheet-
wash and rain peeling.
• If erosion continues unchecked for a long time,
numerous finger-shaped grooves may develop
in the silt laden soils. The whole pattern
resembles the shape of a tree. This is called rill
erosion.
 Sheet Erosion
• When a gully bed is eroded further, the
bed gradually deepens and flattens out
and a ravine is formed. The depth of a
ravine may extend to 30 metres or
more.
• When the entire top sheet of soil is
washed away by water or by wind,
leaving behind barren rock, it is
called sheet erosion.
 Sea Erosion
• In estuaries, tidal bores cause extensive damage to the
surrounding banks. This is called sea erosion.
 Glacial Erosion
• In the higher reaches of the
Himalayan region, soil erosion is
caused by sowing moving
glaciers. This is called glacial
erosion.
• Wind erosion or Aeolian
erosion is quite significant in
arid and semi-arid regions.
• Desertification around desert
regions is due to wind erosion.
 Causes of Soil Erosion
Over-grazing
Deforestation
Action of wind
Water Glacier
Topography viz. steep slopes & heavy rainfall
Faulty methods of agriculture
Over-irrigation
Shifting agriculture and
Some anthropogenic factors viz. Mining and industrial activities etc.
Effects of Soil Erosion
Loss of fertile top soil

Lowering of the underground water table and

decreasing soil moisture

Drying of vegetation and extension of arid lands

Increase in the frequency of droughts and floods

 Prevention of Soil Erosion Techniques
Terrace Farming
 On hilly slopes, terraces act as bunds
and prevent the soil from being washed
away
 Farming is done on a unique step like
structure and the force of water
running off is slowed down
 Terraced farming is more common on
small farms and in underdeveloped
countries, since mechanized equipment
is difficult to deploy in this setting
 Contour ploughing
• Land should never be ploughed up & down
as it increases erosion
• Ploughing along contours on a slope
prevents soil being washed away by
rainwater or by surface run off
• Contours act like bunds and thus prevents
soil erosion by allowing water to slowly
penetrate the soil
 Contour barriers/Contour trenching
• Contour-strips which intercept down slope
flowing water and soil particles
• Several 2 feet by one foot trenches are
formed across the slopes at suitable
intervals
• Tree seedlings are to be planted above the
trench
• These barriers slow down the water
movement and reduce its erosive force
• They also filter out and trap many of the
suspended soil particles, keeping them
from being washed out of the field
 Afforestation
• Planting of trees along the edges of the fields,
the waste land and on steep slopes to prevent
soil erosion
• Also to enhance the capacity of the soil to
retain water
 Shelter Belts
• A line of trees or shrubs planted
to protect an area, especially a
field of crops, from fierce
weather
• Farmers plant trees in several
rows to check wind erosion
• Also known as wind breaks
 Cover crops/Crop rotations
• Crop rotation is a practice in which a different crop is cultivated on a piece
of land each year.
• This helps to conserve soil fertility as different crops require different
nutrients from the soil. Crop rotation will provide enough time to restore
lost nutrients.
• Cover crops such as legumes, white turnip, radishes and other species are
rotated with cash crops to blanket the soil year-round
• Act as green manure that replenishes nitrogen and other critical nutrients
• Also help suppress weeds & increase soil fertility
 No-till farming
• Also called zero-tillage or direct drilling
• (Tillage is the preparation of land for growing crops with the help of tractors)
• A way of growing crops or pasture from year to year without disturbing the soil
through tillage
• Increases the amount of water that infiltrates into the soil
• Also increases organic matter retention and cycling of nutrients in the soil
• keeps soils anchored in place rather than having bare ground exposed to wind and
water
 Strip Cropping
• Crops are grown in alternate strips of land to
check the impact of the winds
• It is used when a slope is too steep or when
there is no alternative method of preventing soil
erosion.
• Contour strip cropping → Cultivation of soil
protecting crops in strips alternating with
erosion permitting crops. The strips should be
across the slope.
• Field strip cropping → Plants are cultivated in
parallel strips across the slopes
 Mulching
• Mulches are materials placed over the soil
surface to maintain moisture and improve
soil conditions
• A protective layer of a material that is spread
on top of the soil
• Mulches can either be organic — such as
grass clippings, straw, bark chips, and similar
materials
• Or inorganic — such as stones, brick chips,
and plastic
 Construction of Dams
• Rivers causes soil erosion
• Dams are built in the upper course of rivers to
control erosion of soil
• This would check the speed of water and thereby
save soil from erosion
Thank You