Types of Soils found in India

In this page let’s learn various types of Soils found in India and their distribution

India being abode to various climatic zones and conditions , the soil found here of vivid range too.

Types of Soils found in India

Below are the various soils found in India in the decending order of it’s coverage or occupancy.

Alluvial Soil : This type of soil is mostly seggregated by to the river drainage system in India and rich in Potash, humus with bit Nitrogen. (Lacks phosphorous). Very suitable for agriculture. asoils cover 42% of Indian landmass and are largely found in the river basin and plains like Ganga , yamuna ,brahmaputra, godavari ,krishna,etc.

Major chunk being in North to north east with few more areas in coastal AP , Tamilnadu, small portion of kerala and on West found in Gujarat, rajastan.

Red and yellow soil : These soils are formed by weathering of the ancient crystalline and metamorphic rocks. Their color is red due to high iron content.

They cover 18.5% of Indian landmass and are rich in iron and Potash but poor in nitrogen , phosphorous and humus. But suitable for agriculture unlike laterite.

They are found in the regions of north east , chattisgarh,Andhra Pradesh, most of Tamilnadu, and bit portion in madhya Pradesh, odisha, Maharashtra, Telangana,kerala,Karnataka

Black/Regur Soils:

Black soils/regur soils are fromed from igneous rocks.

These soils are rich in Potash,iron,calcium,aluminia but poor in nitrogen, phospate and humus. Water retaining capacity is high due to clay texture and thus are very suitable for crops like cotton.

These soils occupy almost 15% of Indian crust and are found in Deccan plateau region covering Maharashtra, Telangana, Karnataka and small portion of Andhra,chota nagpur plateau,etc

Mountainous : Forest & Mountainous soils by namesake are found in mountain regions at high altitudes. Most of Jammun & Kashmir, Sikkim and parts of Himachal Pradesh, uttarakhand and arunachal Pradesh,assam have this cover.

The texture of mountain soils can be loamy,clayey,alluvial, etc and depends on the mountain region and climate. Covers 8% area of Indian subcontinent.

These soils are suitable for Tea and fruit cultivation.

Laterite: soils are rich in iron and aluminium and is commonly considered to have formed in hot and wet tropical areas.They were developed under extreme & prolonged weather conditions of parents to rocks.

High iron oxide and aluminium and lack of phospate, Potash, nitrogen , humus these soils are not favorable for agriculture but are mostly used for baking bricks.

These soils are found in small proportion in various states like Rajastan, Karnataka, kerala, Tamilnadu, telangana,meghalaya,etc

Arid : These are Sandy soils found in desert areas of India in Thar desert of Rajastan. These are not suitable for agriculture.

Apart from the above, there are other soils randomly found across India in small areas. Such as Saline /alkaline soils and Mangrove soils( at sundarbans of West Bengal).