Short note on laterite soil
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The word Laterite is derived from the Latin word ‘later’ which means ‘brick’. Laterite is a soil and rock type rich in iron and aluminium and is commonly considered to have formed in hot and wet tropical areas. Nearly all laterites are of rusty-red colouration, because of high iron oxide content. They develop by intensive and long-lasting weathering of the underlying parent rock.
In laterite areas where a high level of culture once prevailed, ruins often disclose laterite used as a building stone. Open cisterns, headwalls, sewers, flagstones, culverts, moles and quays, of laterite have functioned successfully for hundreds of years.
Humus content of the soil is removed fast by bacteria that thrives well in high temperature. The rocks are completely leached out having a high proportion of iron and aluminium as residue. The Laterite soils in India are not very fertile and are can be only used with sufficient manure and fertilizers dosage. They are coarse in texture and poor in nitrogen, phosphoric acid, potash and urea. These soils are red in colour as it is mixed with iron oxides. They are good for cultivation of Cashewnuts and Tapioca. These soils are also used as building materials in India in the form of bricks. Even we can used it for other agriculture needs like cotton, rice, wheat, pulses, tea and coffee with the help of suitable fertilizers.
Laterite soils in India are mainly found in Eastern Orissa, South Western Ghats, plains of Malabar Coast, Maharashtra and some part of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Meghalaya, and West Bengal.
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