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UPPCS Indian Geography Gap Sheet: Soils of India.
UPPCS has asked 13 of these. 5 have not been asked yet. Lock the first list, then read the second: it holds what UPPCS has not used yet.
First, the concept
ICAR divides India's soils into 8 main groups. Alluvial covers the most area (about 43 percent), then red, then black.
Soil follows rock and rain. Black soil comes from the Deccan lava; red soil from old crystalline rocks; laterite forms where heavy rain washes the soil out (leaching), leaving iron and aluminium.
Most Indian soils are poor in nitrogen, phosphorus and humus. UPPCS asks a soil with its crop, its region, or its local name.
✅ Already asked (13)
Alluvial soil
- Khadar · New alluvium of the flood plains, renewed every year
- Bhangar · Old alluvium, above flood level
- Bhabar and Terai · Bhabar: pebbly belt at the foot of the Shiwaliks; Terai: marshy belt south of it
Black, red and laterite
- Black soil (Regur) · Deccan lava; holds water; best for cotton; rich in lime, iron, magnesia, potash
- Red soil · Red from iron oxide; looks yellow when hydrated; Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Odisha, Chotanagpur
- Laterite soil · Heavy rain and heat; leached; good for cashew, tea, coffee; dug as bricks ('later' = brick)
Desert, salt and marsh
- Arid soil · Rajasthan; sandy, low humus; turns productive with canal water (Ganganagar)
- Saline and alkaline soil (Reh, Kallar, Usar) · Salt on the surface; Usar of Uttar Pradesh; reclaimed by adding gypsum
- Peaty and marshy soil (Kari) · Kottayam and Alappuzha (Kerala), Sundarbans; high organic matter
Mountain soils
- Forest soil · Acidic, rich in humus; Himalaya and the Ghats
- Karewa · Lake deposits of the Kashmir Valley; saffron of Pampore
Soil care
- Gully erosion (ravines) · Chambal ravines; turns farmland into badland
- Contour ploughing and terracing · Slow the water on slopes
❌ Not asked yet (5)
Items marked 'asked in other exams' have come in UPSC or other state exams, not yet in UPPCS.
🔒 5 items not asked yet
Alluvial soil: 1 · Black, red and laterite: 1 · Soil care: 3
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⚠️ Black soil is poor in nitrogen and phosphorus, though rich in lime and potash. Khadar is the new alluvium and Bhangar the old one, not the other way round.
'Asked' and 'not asked' are checked against every UPPCS question on this site. 'Not asked yet' does not mean it will surely come.