Soils of India

S.No. Soils Origin Characteristics Fertility Crops Areas/States

1. Alluvial Silt brought by rivers- i) These are i) Very fertile respond Suitable for i) Vast track of riverine
Soil Transported soils transported soils. well to irrigation and wheat, alluvium of Satluj, Ganga
ii) They are coarsest manuring. sugarcane, and Brahmaputra plains.
in the upper section of ii) Good for both Rabi rice, cotton ii) States of Punjab,
the valley, medium in and Kharif crops. and oilseeds Haryana, U.P., Bihar,
the middle and finest in delta West Bengal and Assam.
in the delta region. region ideal
for jute
cultivation.
2. Black Originated from i. Retains moisture Black soil of uplands Because of Found in the
Soil solidification of basic and becomes sticky are of low fertility but high fertility, plateaus of
lava spread over when wet. they are dark and rich suitable for Maharashtra,
Deccan plateau as a ii. Deeper the soil in valley. cotton, rice, Saurashtra,
result of Volcanic more moisture it can wheat, jowar, Malwa, Madhya
activity. hold. millets, Pradesh and
Sugarcane, Chhattisgarh also
tobacco, oil along the
seeds. Godavari and the
Krishna valleys.

3. Red Soil Formed due to i. Not retentive to Responds well to Wheat, rice, Found in the areas of low
weathering of ancient moisture. manuring and cotton, rainfall in the eastern
crystalline and ii. When fertilizers are irrigation. pulses and and southern parts of
metamorphic rocks added, becomes sugarcane the Deccan plateau.
consisting of acid productive. can grow Also found in parts of
granites. after Odisha, Chhattisgarh,
 application of southern parts of the
fertilizers and middle Ganga plain and
irrigation. along the piedmont zone
of the Western Ghats.
4. Laterite Formed under Monsoon conditions Due to intensive Suitable for Areas: Summits of
Soil conditions of high promote leaching of leaching, Laterite soil plantation Western and Eastern
temperature and the top soil. lacks fertility but crops like ghats.
heavy rainfall. Hence responds well to coffee, States: Found in
formation takes place manuring and rubber and Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil
strictly under irrigation. coconut. Nadu, Madhya Pradesh,
monsoon conditions. and the hilly areas of
Odisha and Assam.

5. Arid After proper irrigation Lacks humus and These soils In India, the arid
Soil these soils become moisture because dry are very soil is mainly found
cultivable. Salt climate, high infertile, but in parts of Western
content is very high temperature make with proper Rajasthan, Haryana, and
and common salt is evaporation faster. fertilizers and Punjab and extends up
obtained by irrigation, the to the Rann of Kutch in
evaporating the drought Gujarat.
water. resistant and
salt
tolerant dry
crops such
as barley,
cotton,
wheat,
millets,
maize,
pulses, etc.,
can be grown
6. Forest The soils are formed  The soil is loamy and Soils that formed Coconut, These soils occupy
Soil due to mechanical silty in valley sides under barley, approximately 8.7% of
weathering caused by and coarse-grained in deciduous forests are spices, tea, the total
snow, rain, very fertile and cashew, land area of India,
temperature variation, the upper slopes. It is productive agricultural maize, including the Himalayan
etc. acidic with low humus lands because of the coffee, palm region of Jammu and
content in the snow- decomposing leaves at etc. Kashmir, Himachal
covered areas. the soil surface. Pradesh, and
However, soils forme Uttaranchal, and also
d under pine trees are some parts of the
usually more acidic Western and Eastern
and sandy, and are Ghats and the Peninsular
less suited to growing plateau.
crops.