Soils of India

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Soils of India

All eight soil groups, where each is found, and the saline, alkali and laterite traps.

On this map (26)

Alluvial soil — Ganga plain · Uttar Pradesh — Alluvial · ~40% of India. Largest soil group (about 40%) and the most productive (UPPCS)
Bhangar — old alluvium · Uttar Pradesh — Alluvial · older, kankar. Old alluvium on higher ground ABOVE flood level (UPPCS); kankar nodules, less fertile
Khadar — new alluvium · Bihar — Alluvial · renewed by floods. New alluvium on floodplains, renewed by every flood — the most fertile
Deltaic alluvium — Ganga delta · West Bengal — Alluvial · delta. Fine deltaic silt — paddy and jute country
Black (regur) soil — Deccan trap · Maharashtra — Black · basalt lava. Formed from weathered Deccan-trap BASALT lava — fissure eruptions (UPPCS)
Black soil — Malwa plateau · Madhya Pradesh — Black · lava soil. Malwa plateau — “lava soil” (UPPCS); soybean and wheat
Black soil — Saurashtra · Gujarat — Black. Saurashtra and Kathiawar — cotton and groundnut
Black soil — Tamil Nadu patches · Tamil Nadu — Black · minor. Only patches — TN leads mill yarn because of skilled labour, NOT black soil (UPSC 2010)
Red soil — Tamil Nadu · Tamil Nadu — Red · crystalline rocks. From old crystalline (granite, gneiss) rocks; red from ferric oxide, YELLOW when hydrated
Red soil — Karnataka plateau · Karnataka — Red. Southern Karnataka plateau — ragi country
Red soil — Chota Nagpur · Jharkhand — Red and yellow. Chota Nagpur plateau — red and yellow soils
Red and yellow soil — Dandakaranya · Chhattisgarh — Red and yellow. Dandakaranya — red and yellow soil (UPPCS)
Laterite soil — Malabar coast · Kerala — Laterite · heavy leaching. High heat + heavy rain wash out lime and silica; iron and aluminium stay (UPPCS: lime is NOT abundant)
Laterite soil — Western Ghats · Karnataka — Laterite. Western Ghats summits and Konkan–Kanara
Laterite soil — Konkan · Maharashtra — Laterite · cashew, mango. Ratnagiri–Sindhudurg laterite — Alphonso mango and cashew (UPPCS: laterite found in Maharashtra)
Laterite soil — Meghalaya plateau · Meghalaya — Laterite. Shillong plateau and North-East hills
Laterite soil — Eastern Ghats (Odisha) · Odisha — Laterite · bauxite. Eastern Ghats laterite capping — bauxite deposits
Arid (desert) soil — Thar · Rajasthan — Arid · sandy. Sandy, saline, poor in humus and nitrogen; kankar layer lower down
Saline soil — Rann of Kachchh · Gujarat — Saline · largest area. Largest area of saline / salt-affected soil → Gujarat (UPPCS)
Alkaline soil (usar, reh) — Uttar Pradesh · Uttar Pradesh — Alkaline · over-irrigation. Largest ALKALINE area → Uttar Pradesh (UPPCS); local names usar, reh, kallar
Saline-alkaline (kallar) — Punjab and Haryana · Punjab — Saline-alkaline. Irrigated NW plains — waterlogging and salts; UPSC 2014: irrigation can make soil saline ✓
Peaty and marshy soil — Kuttanad · Kerala — Peaty · acidic, humus-rich. Heavy rain + waterlogging → lots of organic matter, very ACIDIC
Karewa soil — Kashmir valley · Jammu & Kashmir — Lake deposit · saffron. Karewa = old lake deposits on valley terraces — saffron, almond, walnut
Mountain (forest) soil — Himalaya · Himachal Pradesh — Mountain · young, acidic. Thin and young; humus-rich but ACIDIC on upper slopes, fertile in valleys
Mar soil — Bundelkhand (Jhansi) · Uttar Pradesh — Bundelkhand black-type. Mar = black-type soil of Bundelkhand, Jhansi (UPPCS); others: Kabar, Parwa, Rakar
Chambal ravines — gully erosion · Madhya Pradesh — Erosion · badlands. Worst soil erosion → Chambal valley (UPPCS): gully erosion makes ravines (badlands)

Asked in exams

UPPCSMost productive soil of India → alluvial
UPSC 2002Alluvial soil dominates the northern plains ✓
UPSC 2010No Himalaya → the plain would lack extensive alluvium ✓
UPPCSBhangar in the Ganga valley is found → above present flood limits
UPPCSBlack cotton soil formed from → fissure volcanic rock
UPPCSAlso called regur → black soil
UPPCS“Self-ploughed” soil → black cotton soil
UPPCSBlack soil is found in the Himalaya → NOT correct
UPPCSLava soil is found in → Malwa plateau
UPSC 2010TN mill yarn: black soil ✗, skilled labour ✓ → 2 only
UPSCWhy is red soil red? → presence of ferric oxides
UPPCSMainly found in Dandakaranya → red and yellow soil
UPSC 1994Infertile from excess iron → lateritic
UPPCSLaterite: lime abundant → NOT correct
UPPCSProminent laterite region → Malabar coast
UPPCSLaterite soil is found in → Maharashtra
UPPCSLargest salt-affected soil area → Gujarat
UPPCSLargest saline soil area → Gujarat
UPPCSMaximum alkali area → Uttar Pradesh
UPSC 2011Salinisation effect → makes some soils impermeable
UPSC 2014Irrigation over time can raise soil salinity ✓
UPPCSSerious soil-erosion problem → Shivalik foothills
UPPCSMar soil is found in → Jhansi
UPPCSRegion highly affected by soil erosion → Chambal valley
UPSC 2001Erosion order → splash, sheet, rill, gully

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