NABARD GRADE A

SOIL & ITS

TYPES
(Part-1)

PHASE-I & II
 DEFINITION
Soil can be simply defined as a mixture of small rock particles/debris and organic
materials/humus which develop on the earth surface and support growth of plants.

Soil Classification – Agencies involved

• In the modern period, when men started to know about the various characteristics
of soil they began to classify soil on the basis of texture, cooler, moisture etc.

• When the Soil survey of India was established in 1956, they studied soils of India
and their characteristics.

• The National Bureau of Soil Survey and the Land Use Planning, an institute under
the control of Indian Council of Agriculture Research did a lot of studies on Indian
soil
 CLASSIFICATION INDIANM SOILS
In ancient times, soils used to be classified into two main groups

•Urvara (i.e. fertile)

•Usara (i.e. sterile)

characteristics and external features such as texture, color, the slope of land and
moisture content in the soil.

Texture
• sandy
• clayey
• silty
• Loam

Colour
• Red
• Yellow
• black
 USDA SOIL TAXONMOMY
There are twelve (12) orders of soils, which are distinguished largely on the basis of properties
that reflect a major course of development, with considerable emphasis on the presence or
absence of notable diagnostic horizons.

Alfisols – “al” for aluminum, “f” for iron (chemical symbol Fe), two prominent elements in
these soils.
Andisols – Rock formed from a type of magma in Andes Mountains volcanoes; soils high in
volcanic ash.
Aridisols – Dry soils.
Entisols – These are recently formed soils.
Gelisols – Soils in areas of permafrost.
Histosols – These soils contain mostly organic matter.
Inceptisols – Young soils at the beginning of their “life”
Mollisols – Soft soils.
Oxisols – Soils with large amounts of oxygen-containing compounds
Spodosols – Ashy soils.
Ultisols – Soils that have had the last of their nutrient bases leached out.
Vertisols – Soils in which material from O and A horizons fall through surface cracks and end
up below deeper horizons.
 CLASSIFIACTION
ICAR has classified the
Indian soils on the basis of
their nature and character as
per the United States
Department of Agriculture
(USDA) Soil Taxonomy.

Inceptisols – covers 39% area in India

Entisols – covers 28% area in India
Alfisols – 13 % area in the country
Vertisols – 8% area in India
Aridisols 0 4% area of the soils in
India
Ultisols – 2% area in India
Mollisols – 0.4% area in India
 CLASSIFIACTION

Inceptisols
• These soils are inherently infertile.
• They are usually the weakly developed young soil though they are more developed than entisols.
• They include the soils of most of the arctic tundra and outwash moraines.

Entisols
• Entisols are mineral soils without distinct horizons.
• Entisols lack horizons, often because they are only recently deposited.
• The sand dunes ergs outwash glacial plains, and the poorly drained tundra, tidal mud flats, etc. are
the examples of Entisols.

Alfisols

• Alfisols have moderate-to-high reserves of basic cations and are fertile

• How-ever, their productivity depends on moisture and temperature.
• They are supplemented by the moderate application of lime and other chemical fertilizers.
 CLASSIFIACTION
Vertisols
Vertisols develop on certain types of volcanic rock in wet-dry climates under grassland and
savanna vegetation.
They expand and contract with wetting and drying, creating deep cracks in the soil.
They are black in color and have a high content of the clay mineral montmorillonite, which is
formed from the weathering of particular volcanic rocks.

Region- Deccan Plateau of western India, where basalt, a dark variety of igneous rock, supplies
the silicate minerals that are altered into the necessary clay minerals.

Aridisols

• Aridisols are desert soils with weakly developed horizons.

• They often exhibit subsurface layers composed of an accumulation of calcium carbonate or
soluble salts. With irrigation and proper management, they are quite fertile.
• Lack in organic matter.
• Salinization is the main problem of these soils.
 CLASSIFIACTION
Ultiosols

• These highly weathered forest soil are found in the temperature climates. These soils tend to be
reddish in color because of residual iron and aluminium oxides in the a horizon.
• The increased precipitation in ultisol regions means greater mineral alteration, more leaching, and
therefore, a lower level of fertility.
• Fertility is further reduced by certain agricultural practices and the effect of soil damaging crops
such as cotton and tobacco. These soils need substantial management.

Mollisols:

• Mollisols are soils of grasslands in sub-humid to semiarid climates.

• They have a thick, dark brown surface layer, termed a mollic epipedon.
• Because of their loose texture and high base status, they are highly productive.
• Ex- Soils of the steppes and prairies of the world belong to this group.
• The process of calcification is very strong in these soils. When cemented or hardened, these
deposits are called calche or kankar.
 SOILS ACCORDING TO TEXTURE

Texture

sandy clayey silty Loam

SOILS ACCORDING TO TEXTURE
SOIL TEXTURE TRIANGLE

The proportion of the different soil separates

in a soil defines its soil texture. There are 12
classes of soil texture. For example, if most
particles are large and coarse the soil is
called a sand. It looks and feels sandy. A silt
soil is dominated by medium-sized particles
and feels like flour. Small-sized soil particles
primarily make up a clay soil which feels
slippery or greasy when wet.
 SOIL TEXTURE TRIANGLE

ercent clay Percent silt Percent sand Textural class

24 37 39 Loam

8 10 82 Loamy sand

35 52 13 Silty clay loam

 SOIL TEXTURE TRIANGLE

Soil textural group Soil textural class Feel by hand texturing

gritty - does not ribbon or leave a

Coarse to very course sand, loamy sand
stained smear on hand

gritty - leaves smear on hand, does

moderately course sandy loam not ribbon -- breaks into small
pieces

smooth and flour-like, does not

medium loam, silt loam, silt ribbon, breaks into pieces about 1/2
inch long or less

sandy clay, sandy clay loam, clay forms ribbon; clays from longer
moderately fine loam, silty sandy clay loam, silty clay, ribbons than clay loams. Clay loam
clay feels gritty.
 SOIL TEXTURE TRIANGLE
Loamy Soil: Loamy soil is the one in which none of the three (sand/silt/clay) dominates the other two.
In particular, loamy soil has about 39 % sand, 37 %silt, and 24 % clay.

Sands- the sand particles are the largest. Sand does not hold on to moisture, but it provides good
aeration and drainage.

Clay- On the opposite end, clay particles are much smaller and easily compacted. That makes clay a
great material for building bricks but not so great for allowing water, air, and plant roots through.
However, clay tends to be higher in nutrients than the other soil components.

Silts- Silt is the medium-size particle, with better moisture retention than sand but fewer nutrients
than clay. Silt helps clay and sand mix together more readily, like tempering chocolate.

Friable
• In addition to providing nutrients and water effectively, loam has a loose and crumbly texture. This
is referred to as friable.
• Loose soil provides room for air to mix into the soil, which is also necessary for optimal plant growth.
The friable nature of loam also makes it easy for roots to grow and reach more nutrients and water.