Soil Types of India
Indian Agriculture · भारत की मृदा प्रकार · 17 facts
Alluvial soil is the most fertile and covers the largest area (~43%) of India — found in the Ganga plains, Brahmaputra valley, and coastal plains.
Alluvial soil has two types: Khadar (new alluvium, lighter, more fertile, found near rivers) and Bhangar (old alluvium, darker, less fertile, found away from rivers).
Black soil (Regur soil) is also called cotton soil — found mainly in the Deccan Plateau covering Maharashtra, Gujarat, MP, and parts of AP and Karnataka.
Black soil has high moisture retention capacity and cracks during dry season — it is rich in iron, lime, magnesium, and alumina but poor in nitrogen and phosphorus.
Red soil is found in South India — Tamil Nadu, AP, Karnataka, and Odisha. It gets its red color from iron oxide (ferric oxide).
Laterite soil is formed by intense leaching due to heavy rainfall — found in Kerala, Karnataka, parts of Tamil Nadu, Odisha, and NE India.
Laterite soil is rich in iron and aluminium but poor in nitrogen, potassium, and lime — not very fertile but suitable for tea, coffee, and rubber after management.
Mountain soil (Forest soil) is found in the Himalayan region and Northeast India — thin, acidic, and rich in humus but lacks lime and potash.
Desert/Arid soil is found in Rajasthan (Thar Desert), Gujarat, and parts of southern Punjab and Haryana — sandy, coarse, and low in organic matter.
Saline and Alkaline soil (called Usar, Reh, or Kallar) is found in UP, Rajasthan, Punjab, and Bihar — formed due to waterlogging and poor drainage.
Peaty/Marshy soil is found in coastal areas of Kerala (Kuttanad), Bihar (Sundarbans area), and Orissa — highly acidic, rich in organic matter, and waterlogged.
Soil Health Card (SHC) was launched in 2015 — it provides soil nutrient status to farmers and recommends appropriate dosage of fertilizers.
India has 8 major soil types identified by the ICAR: Alluvial, Black, Red, Laterite, Arid/Desert, Saline/Alkaline, Peaty/Marshy, and Forest/Mountain soils.
Soil erosion is a major problem — wind erosion affects Rajasthan and Punjab; water erosion affects UP, MP, Maharashtra; gully erosion creates ravines in Chambal valley.
National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning (NBSS&LUP), Nagpur is the premier institute for soil survey and classification in India under ICAR.
Vertisol is the scientific name for Black cotton soil — it is famous for high shrink-swell capacity (cracks when dry, swells when wet).
Inceptisols is the scientific classification for alluvial soils (found in the Indo-Gangetic plain) — they are young soils with good potential for agriculture.