What is soil? Discuss its type and characteristics.
Answers
types:
black soil,laterate soil, mountain soil, desert soil etc
Soil refers to the loose surface of the earth as distinguished from solid rock.
TYPES OF SOIL: 1 BLACK SOIL- these soils are mainly found over the Deccan Lava tract including Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat & Andhra Pradesh & in the river valleys of narmada, Godavari , Krishna. These soils have been formed due to weathering of Lava rocks & are most suitable for cultivation of cotton. these soils are also known as regur soils & cover an area of about 5 lakh sq km.
2 RED SOIL: These soils are found in the Chotta Nagpur Plateau, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh & on periphery of Deccan Plateau. These soils have been formed due to decomposition of underlying igneous rocks under heavy rainfall. These soils are poor in nitrogen, lime, and humus. Fertilizers are added to make this soil fertile.
3 LATERITE SOIL: These soils are found on the highland areas of the plateau & are rich in iron, suitable for the cultivation of tea , rubber, coffee etc.
4 ALLUVIAL SOILS: These are the most widespread sois covering an area of 8 lakh sq km from Punjab to Assam. These cover about 40% of India. These soils have been deposited by sediments brought by rivers. These are deep soils rich in potash but poor in nitrogen. These soils are suitable for the cultivation of jute, sugarcaneetc. these soils are of 2 types : Khadar and Bangar soils.
5 DESERT SOIL: These coarse, dry soils are suitable for the cultivation of jawar, bajra etc it is found in dry areas of Rajasthan, Punjab Haryana, Gujarat.
6 MOUNTAIN SOIL: these soils are mostly thin and infertile. These include peat, meadow, forest & bill soils.