Test: Indian Soils - UPSC MCQ

The word Karewa in Kashmiri dialect means, “elevated table-land.”It was used for an unconsolidated to the semi- consolidated sand-clay-conglomerate sequence. The Karewas in Kashmir valley is some 367 meters thick lacustrine deposits. They cover the area between the Jhelum alluvium in the north and Pir Panjal mountains in the south.

Karewas are lacustrine deposits (lake deposits) in the Valley of Kashmir and Bhaderwah Valley of the Jammu Division also known as Jhelum valley.

1. Yes, the reddish color of red soil is due to the presence of ferric oxide. Ferric oxide, also known as hematite, is a reddish-brown powder that occurs naturally in rocks and as rust. In soil, it forms thin coatings on the soil particles. Statement 1 is correct.
2. Red Soil is rich in potash but can be poor in nitrogen, phosphates, magnesia, lime, and humus. Statement 2 is correct.
3. Red soils are known for their porous nature and friable structure. This means that they have good drainage and are easy to work with, making them suitable for agriculture. This statement is correct. 

Hence 1 and 3 is correct.

Black soil becomes sticky when wet. Statement 1 is correct. Black soil is sticky when wet and difficult to work on unless tilled immediately after the first shower or during the pre-monsoon period. They are poor in humus yet highly moisture-retentive.
It is deficient in Nitrogen, Phosphorus and organic matter and rich in Iron, lime, calcium, potassium, aluminium and magnesium. Generally, black soil is found in the central, western and southern states of India. Statement 2 is incorrect.

Black soil is a rich soil that is good for crops like cotton. It is found in various places around the world. It is most abundantly found in western central India, and also known as regur.

• Alkali, or alkaline, soils are clay soils with high pH (> 8.5), a poor soil structure and a low infiltration capacity. Often they have a hard calcareous layer at 0.5 to 1-metre depth.

• Alkali soils owe their unfavourable physicochemical properties mainly to the dominating presence of sodium carbonate which causes the soil to swell and difficult to clarify/settle.

Black soil or Regur is Suitable for cotton production.

Khadir or Khadar plains are those that are low-lying next to a river. Khadir areas are prone to flooding and sometimes include portions of former river beds that became available for agriculture when a river changed course. Khadir soil consists of new alluvial deposits and is often very fertile.

Madhya Pradesh contributes more than 70% of the total soybean production in the country.

Khadar refers to the soil consisting of new alluvial deposits. It is very fertile in comparison to Bangar which is less fertile and consists of older alluvial soil.

• Laterite soils are found mainly in the states of Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh and the hilly regions of Orissa and Assam. Laterite soil is rich in aluminium and iron, formed in wet and hot tropical areas.

• Almost all laterite soils are red due to the presence of iron oxides. It is prepared by the prolonged and rigorous weathering of the parent rock.

• Laterite soil is rich in aluminium and iron, formed in wet and hot tropical areas. Almost all laterite soils are red due to the presence of iron oxides. It is prepared by the prolonged and rigorous weathering of the parent rock.

They are also found in the four delta regions of the south. Strips

Tea — Assam, West

Bengal, Tamil Nadu

Jute — West Bengal, Bihar,

Assam, Orissa

Rubber — Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka

Tobacco — Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu

Farming - State

of alluvium occur along rivers in the plateau as well as in the mountains. Alluviums are mainly loamy, i.e. mixtures of sand and clay.

• Laterite soil is characterized by the possession of iron oxides with red colour. Nitrogen, Phosphorus and potash are not present in proper quantities so it shows low fertile texture.

• Tapioca and cashew nuts are generally grown in such soil. This soil is found loss or more in states- Odisha, Maharashtra, Andhra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Meghalaya and West Bengal.

In agriculture, leaching refers to the loss of water-soluble plant nutrients from the soil, due to rain and irrigation. The rate of leaching increases with the amount of rainfall, high temperatures, and the removal of protective vegetation. In areas of extensive leaching, many plant nutrients are lost, leaving quartz and hydroxides of iron, manganese, and aluminium. This remainder forms a distinctive type of soil, called laterite.

The main objectives of the watershed management strategy of India are to restore the ecological balance by harnessing, conserving and developing degraded natural resources such as soil, vegetative cover and water.

• Red soils develop in a warm, temperate, wet climate under deciduous forests and have thin organic and mineral layers overlying a yellowish-brown leached layer resting on a red layer made of iron oxide(ferric oxide).

• Red soils generally form from iron-rich sediments. They are usually poor growing soils, low in nutrients and humus and difficult to cultivate.

• Capillary water is retained on the soil particles by surface forces. It is held so strongly that gravity cannot remove it from the soil particles.

• The molecules of capillary water are free and mobile and are present in a liquid state. Plant roots can absorb it. Capillary water is, therefore, also known as available water.