What is soil? What are different types of soil? Explain them.

 

                   

                   What is soil?

The uppermost layer of the earth's crust in which plants grow is called soil. 

                                 Types of soil

 The variables that impact soil development contrast starting with one spot then onto the next. Consequently, various sorts of soils are found at better places and under various climatic conditions.  In India soils are arranged into two classes (I) Urvara or fertile soil (ii) Usara or sterile soil. Soils can likewise be arranged commonly based on surface or shading and their physical notand compound properties. Indian soils are classified into six main types:

               (a) Alluvial soils

               (b) Black soils

               (c) Red and yellow soils

               (d) Laterite soils

                (e) Arid soils

                (f) Forest soils

                          (a). Alluvial Soil

  Alluvial soils structure the greater part            of e soils of India. They are found primarily in the stream valleys of the Northern Plains and are extremely ripe. These soils are likewise found in strips, in Gujarat and Rajasthan. They likewise cover the eastern beach front fields particularly the deltas of    Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna and Kaveri streams. These soils contain satisfactory extent of potash, phosphoric corrosive and lime which are best for the development of sugarcane, paddy, wheat and other grain and heartbeat crops. On account of their high fruitfulness, the spaces of alluvial soils are utilized seriously for developing yields and are, consequently, thickly populated. Dry regions additionally have alluvial soil yet soils in such regions is basic and must be put under extraordinary treatment and water system to be useful.

Alluvial soils are shipped soils and are an endowment of three Himalayan stream frameworks - the Ganga, Brahmaputra and Indus waterway frameworks. Alluvial soils contain up of sediment, sand and mud. In the upper stream valleys they have coarser particles and in the lower valleys better particles are found in them. Thus, ripeness of the soil change from one spot to another. Such coarse soils are more normal in piedmont fields such as Duars, Chos and Terai. 

    

            This picture represents Alluvial Soil. 

                             (a). Black Soils

 

            These are sedantary soils.

They are derived from lava in the Deccan Trap area composed of basalt rocks. Black soils are formed in Maharashtra, western Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Saurashtra in Gujarat, parts of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. It is believed that climatic conditions along with the parent rock material are the important factors for the formation of black soils.

They are also known as 'regur' (from Telegu) or black cotton soils.

Such a soil is ideal for growing cotton and hence the name. They have extremely good moisture retention capacity but become sticky when wet, because they have almost 60 per cent of clay content. Hence, these soils are difficult to work upon unless tilled during pre-monsoon periods or just after the first shower. When dry, especially during summer, these soils develop cracks which allows proper aeration of the soil.

Black soils are rich in soil nutrients such as calcium carbonate, magnesium, potash and lime but poor in phosphoric contents.

                    (c) Red and Yellow Soils

Presence of air and water in soil is best illustrated by red soil. Air and water help in rusting of iron content giving a red colour to the soil. These soils develop due to weathering of the translucent molten rocks in spaces of low precipitation in the eastern and southern pieces of the Deccan Plateau.

Yellow and red soils cover spaces of Odisha, Chhattisgarh, southern pieces of the center Ganga plain and the piedmont zone of the Western Ghats. This sort of soil seems yellow when it is found ina hydrated structure. The ruddy tone is because of dissemination of iron in glass like and transformative rocks.

                           (d) Laterite Soils

The Latin word 'later' signifies block and it is this word that gives this dirt its name-laterite soil. This sort of soil is red in shading and made out of little dirt and much rock of red sandstones. Laterite soil creates in districts where there is high temperature and weighty precipitation.

Laterite soil is seriously filtered and is a dirt of the Monsoon environment. It needs richness and is ordinarily of low incentive for crop creation. The humus content is low as the majority of the microorganisms, particularly the decomposers, similar to the microscopic organisms, gets annihilated on account of high temperature.

Laterite soils can be used to the most extreme assuming that the right dosages of composts and excrement are utilized. The laterites are found in the slopes of the Deccan, Karnataka, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and uneven spaces of Assam and Meghalaya. Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala have red laterite soil which is appropriate for the development of cashew nut. In the event that legitimate soil protection measures are utilized, laterite soil of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka are the most suitable for developing tea and coffee.

                            (e). Arid Soils

These soils are for the most part in surface and their shading goes from red to brown. They are saline in nature and in certain spaces the salt substance is entirely high, to the point that normal salt can be made. Dry soil happens in dry environment regions with high temperature, thus vanishing is quicker and the dirt turns out to be exceptionally dry. Parched soil is low in humus. The calcium content of the dirt abatements downwards and the lower layers of the dirt contain 'Kankar.' This layer ruins the penetration of water. Such soils must be watered and furrowed somewhere down to be cultivable. These sorts of soil improvement methods have been effectively embraced in western Rajasthan.

                         (f). Forest Soils

   

     As the name indicates, this type soils are found in the areas of rainforests in the hilly and mountainous areas. Forest soils are not the same in all areas. Their texture varies according to the area they are found in. For example, soils in the lower parts of the valleys, especially on the river terraces and alluvial fans, are fertile. But in the snow covered areas of the Himalayas the soils are acidic with low humus content and are denuded. The valley sides have silty and loamy soil while the upper slopes have coarse grained soil. Hence, we can say that these are heterogeneous in nature and from place to place.