A History of Agriculture in India v1.c8.s2.t5.7

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.