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What is soil and what are the different types of soil?

Soil is a natural body consisting of layers (soil horizons) that are primarily composed of minerals, mixed with at least some organic matter, which differ from their parent materials in their texture, structure, consistency, color, chemical, biological and other characteristics. It is the unconsolidated or loose covering of fine rock particles that covers the surface of the earth.

TYPES OF SOIL FOUND IN INDIA

Indian soils are generally divided into four broad types. These soil types are: 1) alluvial soils; 2) regur soils; 3) red soils and 4) laterite soils.

ALLUVIAL SOILS: This is the most important and widespread category. It covers 40% of the land area. In fact the entire Northern Plains are made up of these soils. They have been brought down and deposited by three great over the Himalayan rivers- Sutlej, Ganga and Brahmaputra- and their tributaries. Through a narrow corridor in Rajasthan they extend into the plains of Gujarat. They are common in eastern coastal plains and in the deltas of Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna and Kaveri.

REGUR SOILS: These soils are black in colour and are also known as black soils. Since, they are ideal for growing cotton, they are also called cotton soils, in addition to their normal nomenclature of regur soils. These soils are most typical of the Deccan trap (Basalt) region spread over north-west Deccan plateau and are made up of lava flows. They cover the plateaus of Mahrashtra, Saurashtra, Malwa and southern Madhya Pradesh and extends eastwards in the south along the Godavari and Krishna Valleys.

RED SOILS: These soils are developed on old crystalline rocks under moderate to heavy rainfall conditions. They are deficient in phosphoric acid, organic matter and nitrogenous material. Red soils cover the eastern part of the peninsular region comprising Chhotanagpur plateau, Orissa, eastern Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, the Nilgiris and Tamil Nadu plateau. Tey extended northwards in the west along the Konkan coast of Maharashtra.

LATERITE SOILS: The laterite soils is the result of intense leaching owing to heavy tropical rains. They are found along the edge of plateau in the east covering small parts of Tamil Nadu, and Orissa and a small part of Chhotanagpur in the north and Meghalaya in the north-east.
Besides these four broad types of soils, mountain soils and desert soils are found in respective areas of India.


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Soils-Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) New Delhi divides Indian soils into eight main classes, viz., (i) Alluvial, (ii) Coarse alluvial, (iii) Red soils lying on the metamorphic rocks, (iv) Laterite soil, (v) Black soil, (vi) Deep black soil, (vii) Light soil on e trap rocks, (viii) Deep black alluvial soil.
(i) Alluvial Soil-This type of soil is rich in chemical properties and is capable of yielding Rabi and Kharif crops. This soil covers Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Asom and some other areas in India.
(ii) Black Soil-This soil covers the greater part of Maharashtra, Gujarat, the whole of Andhra Pradesh and the Western part of Madhya Pradesh. Black soil is rich in chemical properties and very suitable for the growth of cotton, jowar, wheat, linseed, ground nut and gram. It is also known as Deccan Trap Soil or Regur.
(iii) Red Soil-This soil covers the whole of Tamil Nadu, rnataka and South-East Bombay and extends through the east of
Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh to Orissa and Chhotta Nagpur. In the north, it extends into some districts of West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh and it also covers the eastern half of Rajasthan.
(iv) Laterite Soil-This type of soil is found in Madhya Pradesh, Assam and along the Western and Eastern ghats.


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