A History of Agriculture in India v1.c8.s2.t5: Other Soil Groups
A History of Agriculture in India v1.c8.s2.t5
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Other Soil Groups
v1.c8.s2.t5.1
In addition to the four principal groups of soils described above, mention may be made of four more groups.
v1.c8.s2.t5.2
*Forest and Hill Soils*: The soil formation is governed mainly by the character of the deposition of organic matter derived from the forest growth. Broadly, two conditions of soil formation may be distinguished: (i) soils formed under acid condition, with acid humus and low base status, and (ii) soils formed under slightly acid or neutral condition, with high base status, which is favourable to the formation of brown earths.
v1.c8.s2.t5.3
The soils of the hill district of Assam have a high content of organic matter and nitrogen. This may be due to the virgin nature of these soils.
v1.c8.s2.t5.4
In Uttar Pradesh, the sub-Himalayan tract comprises three distinct parts, viz. *bhabar* area immediately below the hills, *tarai* and the plains. The *tarai* areas are characterized by extreme unhealthiness owing to excessive soil moisture and prolific growth of vegetation.
v1.c8.s2.t5.5
The weathering of metamorphic rocks in Coorg has produced deep-surface soil of great fertility, as it receives annually the decomposed products of the virgin forest. The areas towards the west are for the greater part reserved forests and mountain areas. The land surface is full of pebbles, is easily drained, and has a laterite bed.
v1.c8.s2.t5.6
*Desert Soils:* A large part of the arid region of Rajasthan and the Punjab and Haryana, lying between the Satluj and the Aravallis, is affected by desert conditions which, geologically, are of recent origin. This part is covered under a mantle of blown sand, and is dominated by conditions which inhibit soil growth. Some of the soils contain a high percentage of soluble salts and varying percentages of calcium carbonate, and possess high pH. They are, however, poor in organic matter. Reclamation is possible only if proper irrigation facilities are made available.
v1.c8.s2.t5.7
*Saline and Alkaline Soils:* These soils are extensively distributed throughout India in all the climatic zones. Many parts of the dry tracts of the north, especially in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, the Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan, give rise to saline and alkaline efflorescences in the same way as the soils capping the Upper Tertiary rocks do. There are many yet undecomposed mineral fragments in these alluvial clays and silts, which on weathering liberate salts of sodium, magnesium and calcium. The injurious salts are confined to the top layers, being deposited there by the capillary transference of saline solutions from the lower strata.
v1.c8.s2.t5.8
It has been estimated that nearly 850,000 hectares in Uttar Pradesh and over 200,000 hectares in the Punjab and Haryana have been affected by *usar*. Over 10,000 hectares are being affected every year in the Punjab and Haryana. Alkali soils are met with all over Maharashtra.