Presence of Soil with Vertic properties in the Young and Active Alluvial Plains of Maldah

District, West Bengal

Shreyasi Gupta Choudhury, Tapati Banerjee, Subrata Mukhopadhyay, Birendra Nath Ghosh
a
ICAR- National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning, Regional Centre, Kolkata-700091,
* Corresponding author’s email: shreyasi.acss@gmail.com

The soils of lower IGP showed wide variations in their morphological as well as physical and chemical
properties. The time, quality and quantity of sedimentation depicts the variations in the process of
soil formation. The young alluvial plains and the active alluvial plains are more susceptible to these
changes caused by the meandering of the river. While studying the soils under different landforms of
Maldah district, West Bengal, we observed that some of the soils under young alluvial plains and active
alluvial plains were having swell and shrinking characteristic with dark matrix colour. A deep and wide
crack if 5-10 cm wide developed on the surface and extended to a depth of 40 cm from the surface in
the dry seasons. These soils exhibited high clay content (ranged from 38 to 60% clay) with silty clay
to clayey texture and COLE value (ranged from 0.06 to 0.17), which supported the presence of Vertic
properties in these soils. The soils were classified as Fine, mixed, hyperthermic, Vertic Endoaquepts,
Fine, mixed, hyperthermic, Oxyaquic Vertic Haplustepts etc. This is the first time to report such kinds
of soils in Maldah district of West Bengal. The soils are suitable for rice cultivation in the kharif as well
as Boro season. Jute is also cultivated in these kinds of soils. The soils were mostly very deep, poorly
to imperfectly drained, neutral to slightly alkaline, fine to very fine vertic soils with slight erosion. The
dominant cropping system is Jute-Rice-Rice/ Jute-Rice-Mustard. Some farmers have converted these
lands with Makhana cultivation, which fetches higher remuneration as compared to Rice. These soils
were found in parts of Chanchal I and II, Harishchandrapur I & II, Gazol, Bamongola, Habibpur, Old
Maldah blocks of Maldah district.

Soils with Vertic Properties in Maldah District, West Bengal