Indian Soil, Forest & Agriculture

Soil in India

The Indian council of Agricultural Research has classified the Indian soils into 8 categories.

Alluvial Soil

This type of soil spreads over about 15lakhs sq.km area of the country, which constitutes about 40% of the total land area.
It contains sand, loam and clay in different proportions.
It is rich in potash, phosphoric acids, lime, and carbon compounds but is devoid of Nitrogen and humus.
It can be classified into Khadar and Bangar.
Old, black or dark brown coloured alluvial soil is called Bangar.
New alluvial is called Khadar. It is more fertile than Bangar. It is found mainly in Coastal plain areas and deltaic regions and in foothills regions in plenty.

Black Soil

It is also known as Regur or Cotton Soil.
It looks black in color and best suited for cultivation of cotton.
It is formed by weathering and erosion of volcanic lavas.
Its black color is due to the presence of magnetite, iron, compounds of aluminum, humus and aluminum silicate etc.
Black soil is the most suitable soil for dry farming.
It is poor in nitrogen, phosphorus and carbon compounds.

Red Soils

It is formed from crystalline rocks in the areas of heavy rainfall.
It is relatively less fertile soil and needs irrigation.
It is suitable for growing bajra, groundnut and potato, whereas in low lying areas rice, ragi, tobacco and vegetables are grown in it.
Red soils have ample amount of soluble salts, but are devoid of phosphoric acid, carbon compounds organic matter, lime and nitrogen.

Laterite Soil

It is formed in the areas of heavy rainfall due to washing away of lime and silica.
Laterite soils are red in color with a high content of iron-oxides, poor in Nitrogen and Lime.
It can be made suitable for the cultivation of rice, ragi, cashew etc. by use of fertilizers.
It is mostly found in Tamil Nadu and odisha.

Forest and Mountainous Soil

These soils are yet, under formation process.
These are acidic in nature due to excessive presence of less decomposed humus.
These soils are found in the mountainous and hilly tracts of Karnataka, Kerala, Manipur, Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh.
It is also suitable for the cultivation of various fruits, wheat, maize barley etc.

Dry and Desert soil

It contains sand in large quantities and suitable for the Cultivation of crops like jowar and bajra.

Other soils are: Saline & Basic Soils, Wet and Marshy Soil,

FOREST IN INDIA

According to the National Forest policy, the minimum desired area which is considered safe for a tropical country like India is about 33%.
At present, about 20.55% India is covered with forests.
As per percentage of forest area to total area, first is Andaman & Nicobar Island.
Madhya Pradesh has the largest area under forests.
Arunachal Pradesh has the highest per capita forest area.
In Mangrove forests, West Bengal holds first position.
The lowest forest percentage is in Haryana and Punjab because of the extensive agriculture.

AGRICULTURE IN INDIA

About 65-75% of the total population of the country depends on agriculture.
About 18.5% of the GDP of India comes from the agriculture.
In producing rice India holds 2nd position in the World (China is 1st)
In producing wheat India occupies 2nd position in the World after China.
Uttar Pradesh is largest producer of wheat in India.
Punjab is the largest per hector producer of wheat in India.
The new technique of agriculture was inevitable in India after the drought of 1966. It was first applied in 1966-1967. It was effective in rice and wheat production but mostly effective in wheat comparably to rice.
The father of green revolutions is Dr. M.S. Swaminathan.
The 2nd green revolution was experienced in 1983-1984.

Different Crops Seasons in India

Kharif Crops

Sown in summers between May and July and harvested after the rain in September and October.

E.g.: rice, jowar, bajra, maize, cotton, jute, sugarcane, tobacco, groundnut, pulses etc.

Rabi Crops

Sown at the beginning of winter and harvested before the onset of the summer season between February and April.

E.g.: wheat, barley, oilseeds, gram, potatoes etc.

Zayad Crops

They are grown between April and June.

E.g.: melon, water melon, cucumber, toris, leafy, and other vegetables.

Grown mainly for the market, only a small portion of the product is consumed by the farmers themselves (cotton, sugarcane etc.).

Jhum or Shifting Agriculture

Jhum agriculture is an agricultural practice followed in the hilly or plateau regions by clearing forests areas like Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Nagaland.
Forests are cut and burnt and the land is prepared for sowing traditional seeds by traditional methods, of cultivation by the tribal people.
This land is used for 2-3 years till the soil gets exhausted and the Jhum is abandoned.
The cultivator then move on to other patch of forest.