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What is Agroforestry?

Agroforestry is a sustainable management mechanism for land that:

• increases overall production,
• combines agricultural crops, tree crops, forest plants and animals simultaneously, and
• applies management practices that are compatible with cultural practices of the local population.

It is a type of social forestry in which an individual farmer undertakes tree farming and grows fodder plants, grasses and legumes on his own land. In agroforestry trees are considered a crop and become a part of crop combinations.

There is an increasing number of farmers who plant trees either along the boundaries or in the whole field/farm as a crop. In fact, in the northern plains of India, trees are planted by most of the farmers irrespective of the size of their holdings. The large farmers and absentee landlords generally put a part of their holdings or total agricultural area under tree crops.

The main advantage of agroforestry is considered to be its positive impact on the soil. Let’s understand the impact of trees on the soil.

How trees improve soils:

1. Litter or Mulch:

During the lifetime of a tree, leaves, twigs and branches die and fall to the ground as litter. Litter contributes to the organic-matter content of the soil after it decomposes. A soil that is rich in organic matter has a better capacity to absorb and retain water and thus is also more resistant to erosion. A good cover of litter or mulch can also be very effective in suppressing weeds.

2. Increase nutrient content of soil:

• Nutrient Uptake from deeper layers of soil: Tree roots normally penetrate deeper into the soil than the roots of crops. Though not experimentally verified, trees are generally considered more efficient than crops in taking up nutrients released by weathering deep in the soil.
• Nutrients from the atmosphere: The presence of a tree reduces the wind speed and creates good conditions for the deposition of dust. Nutrients in the atmosphere are conveyed to the soil when they are dissolved in rain or settle with dust. Rain water dripping from leaves and flowing along the branches carries the nutrients to the ground, together with those released from the tree itself and associated plants growing on it. It is known that the amounts of nutrients reaching the ground in this way are substantial.
• Nitrogen Fixation: Many leguminous trees and a few non-leguminous ones have the ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen through symbiosis with bacteria or fungi in root nodules. The fixation of nitrogen has been proven and found to be a significant factor in soil fertility. Also, the litter from nitrogen-fixing plants is often rich in nitrogen which is added to the soil when the litter or mulch decomposes.

3. Protection from soil erosion

Tree roots and stems reduce surface run-off, nutrient leaching and soil erosion.

Source

Some Other Benefits of Agroforestry:

1. Environmental Benefits:

• Reduction of pressure on natural forests. It is also recognized that Agroforestry is perhaps the only alternative to meeting the target of increasing forest or tree cover to 33 percent from the present level of less than 25 per cent, as envisaged in the National Forest Policy (1988).
• Agroforestry is known to have the potential to mitigate the climate change effects through:
  • microclimate moderation and natural resources conservation in the short run, and
  • carbon sequestration in the long run. Agroforestry species are known to sequester as much carbon in below-ground biomass as the primary forests, and far greater than the crop and grass systems.
• When strategically applied on a large scale, with an appropriate mix of species, agro-forestry enables agricultural land to withstand extreme weather events, such as floods and droughts, and climate change.

2. Economic benefits:

• A greater output of food, fuel wood, fodder and timber.
• Increase in levels of farm income due to improved and sustained productivity.
• Agroforestry leads to a reduction in the incidence of total crop failure, which is common to single cropping or monoculture systems. This is because such systems are structurally and functionally more complex than monoculture.
• The absentee landlords go for agroforestry to retain the title of the land and to increase their income. It provides an alternative to land owners to manage their agricultural land in absence of family labour.
• Agroforestry has significant potential to provide employment to the rural and urban population through production, industrial application and value addition ventures. Current estimates show that about 65 % of the country’s timber requirement is met from the trees grown on farms.

3. Social benefits :

• Improvement in rural living standards from sustained employment and higher income.
• Makes the villagers self-dependent at the village-level.

Despite the numerous material and geo-climatic benefits, agroforestry if not carefully planned can have some adverse effects on agricultural land. Some of these are:

• In the fields along which trees have been planted, the productivity per unit area decreases, as in at least about two meters from the trees the moisture content in the soil is significantly reduced. Also, the combination of trees and crops must be so chosen so as to minimise the competition between their roots for moisture.
• Unscientific planning can also negatively impact the agricultural productivity of the land. E.g. growing trees with photophilic i.e. light-loving plants.
• Pests and Diseases: Mixtures of trees and crops make a more diverse environment than monocropping. A diverse environment enables a greater variety of species of all kinds of organisms — both desirable and less desirable — to thrive. With increased diversity, the risks of pests and diseases may also increase. On the other hand, a greater diversity of species also allows for better regulatory mechanisms which may reduce the seriousness of the pests and diseases. Careful planning is necessary so that the organisms promoted by one component in the system and are not harmful to the other component or components.

Thus, for an agroforestry system to be successful, a careful and scientific approach is required which incorporates knowledge from both agriculture and forestry.

Source

Apart from these, certain shortcomings have been observed in the case of agroforestry programs in India:

• The tendency of farmers to opt for market-oriented trees rather than the trees which are more ecologically suited or are locally needed (fuelwood/fodder).
• Agroforestry has benefitted the big farmers more than the marginal and small farmers. Many of the absentee landlords plant commercial trees in their agricultural landholdings to save their land from dispossession. This programme is said to have encouraged absentee landlordship.
• The diversion of good agricultural land from cereal and commercial crops may create the scarcity of food and industrial raw material.
• Possible negative impact on crop production because of planting trees on fertile lands.

Thus, while the potential benefits of agroforestry are well documented, particular aspects of these systems need to be adapted to suit the areas where they are introduced. These adaptations primarily involve the selection of the ideal combinations of trees, shrubs and crops that will benefit each other, the environment and the income of the small-scale farmers.

National Agroforestry Policy 2014:

In February 2014, India became the first nation in the world to adopt an agroforestry policy. Agroforestry was earlier covered as a part of other policies e.g. the National Forest Policy, the Green India Mission etc.

The Policy aims to improve coordination, convergence and synergy between various elements of agroforestry, scattered across various existing missions, programme and schemes under different ministries—agriculture, rural development and environment.

Objectives of the National Agroforestry Policy 2014:

• Promote agroforestry to increase farm income and livelihoods of rural households, especially the small and marginal farmers.
• Protect and stabilise ecosystems, and promote resilient cropping and farming systems to minimise the risk during extreme climatic events.
• Simultaneously provide raw material to wood based industries. Thus create new avenues for rural employment, and reduce pressure on the forests.
• To develop capacity and strengthen research in agroforestry and create a massive people’s movement for achieving these objectives.

Cropping pattern used on a farm and its interaction with farm resources, other farm enterprises and available technology that determines its make up, is called a cropping system.

A farmer’s choice of crops is governed by several sets of factors: Physical, Social and Economic. But, by and large, most of the Indian farmers go for cultivation of a number of crops at their farms and rotate a particular crop combination over a period of 3-4 years. It results in a multiplicity of cropping systems, which remains dynamic in time and space making it difficult to precisely determine the spread of different cropping systems.

Scientists have identified more than 250 cropping systems being followed throughout the country but it is estimated that only 30 major cropping systems are prevalent (except the areas under monocropping due to moisture or heat conditions)

A large diversity of cropping systems exists under rainfed and dryland areas with an overriding practice of intercropping. This is because of greater risks involved in cultivating a large area under a particular crop. While in areas with assured irrigation only a few cropping systems are followed and they have a considerable coverage across the region and contribute significantly to foodgrains production at the national level.

Types of Cropping Systems in India:

Broadly speaking there are 3 types of cropping systems in India:

1. Sequential – In sequential multiple cropping, farmers use short duration crops and intensive input management practices. E.g.

• In Maharashtra:- Rice-Frenchbean-Groundnut
• In Rainfed Areas:- Pigeon Pea – Wheat

2. Inter-Cropping – Growing two or more crops simultaneously on the same field is called intercropping. In this case, crop intensification is in both temporal and spatial dimension. There is an inter-crop competition during all or in part of crop growth. E.g.

• Maize and Groundnut in Ranchi
• Cotton and Groundnut in Junagarh

3. Alley Cropping System – Growing of annual crops with multipurpose perennial shrubs/trees is called alley cropping. It is a way of increasing production potential under fragile environments. It is recommended to meet food, fodder and fuel needs besides improving soil fertility e.g. In the salt affected alluvial soil areas of Modipuram, alley cropping of rice-wheat sequence is done with trees like babool.

Major Cropping Systems in India:

The crop occupying the highest percentage of sown area of the region is taken as the base crop and all the other possible alternative crops sown in the region as substitutes (i.e. spatial variation) for the base crop in the same season or as the crops that fit in with the rotation in the subsequent seasons (i.e. temporal variations) are considered in the pattern.

1. Rainy Season Cropping Systems: Among the Kharif Crops – Rice, Sorghum, Pearl Millet (Bajra), Maize, Groundnut and Cotton are the prominent crops to be considered as the base crops for describing the Kharif Cropping Patterns.

1. Rice Based Cropping Patterns: Rice is grown in the high rainfall area or in the areas where supplemental irrigation is available to ensure good yields. At an all India Basis, nearly 80% of rice is sown during June to September and the rest during the remaining season. E.g.
   • With rice, other crops being cotton, vegetables and fruits (in Meghalaya)
   • Jute as an alternative to rice (in Orissa, coastal Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Assam etc.)
   • In Bihar, the alternative crops being pulses, wheat, maize, jute, sugarcane and oilseeds
2. Kharif Cereals other than rice:
   • Maize-based cropping systems: Maize is grown in high rainfall areas or on soil with a better capacity for retaining moisture, but with a good drainage.
   • Sorghum based cropping system: Grown in medium rainfall regions. These systems are popular in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. The alternative crops being cotton, pulses, groundnut, and small millets in Maharashtra.
   • Pearl-Millet based cropping system –Pearl millet is a more drought resistant crop than several other cereal crops and is generally preferred in low or less dependable rainfall and on light textured soils. These are popular in Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh. E.g. in Rajasthan with pulses, groundnut, oilseeds, etc.
3. Groundnut based cropping systems: These are popular in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra. E.g. In Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, rice forms an alternative; in Karnataka, Sorghum is the main alternative crop, whereas cotton, tobacco, sugarcane and wheat are also grown here.
4. Cotton based cropping systems: These are popular in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Punjab. E.g. Cotton with other crops:
   1. Sorghum (Kharif and rabi), groundnut, pulses and wheat etc;
   2. With irrigation in some places sugarcane and rice are also grown with cotton.

2. Winter Cropping Systems: Among the Rabi Crops, wheat together with barley and oats, sorghum and chickpea are the main base crops. Generally, wheat and chickpea are concentrated in the subtropical region in northern India, whereas Rabi sorghum is grown mostly in the Deccan.

1. Wheat and Chickpea based cropping systems: Wheat and Chickpea are grown under identical climate and can be substituted for each other. E.g. alternative crops in Madhya Pradesh being Kharif sorghum groundnut, oilseeds, cotton, small millets etc. In Punjab, the alternative crops are rice, mailze, cotton, pearl-millet etc.
2. Rabi Sorghum based cropping systems: These are popular in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. E.g. in Maharashtra, the alternative crops are pearl millet, pulses, oilseeds and tobacco etc.

3. Plantation and other commercial crops:

• Sugarcane, Tobacco, Potato, Jute, Tea, Coffee, Coconut, Rubber, Spices and condiments are important crops. Some of these are seasonal, some annual, some perennial.
• Generally, the areas occupied by these crops are very limited compared with those of food and other crops. Nevertheless, they are important from commerce point of view.
• Besides the above-mentioned crops, there are certain horticultural crops like apple, mango and citrus fruits.
• E.g. in the jute growing areas, rice is the usual alternative crop; in Punjab, Bihar, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, wheat and maize are rotation crops with sugarcane.

4. Mixed Cropping:

• Crop Mixtures, for example, pulses and some oilseeds are grown with maize, sorghum and pearl millet.
• Lowland Rice is invariably grown unmixed, but in upland rice, several mixtures are prevalent. E.g. In un-irrigated areas of the north, during rabi season, wheat, barley and chickpea are the mixtures of grain crops.
• Note: Mixed Cropping was considered by some researchers a primitive practice, but now many researchers regard it as a more efficient way of using the land. [Mixed cropping ≠Mixed Farming; Mixed Farming = Farming + Animal Rearing. Note the difference!]

Note4students: With this article, we conclude our discussion on Indian Agriculture. However, these articles only cover the geographical aspect of agriculture in India. For a comprehensive understanding and coverage of other aspects like economic, government schemes etc., do read our comprehensive article series on Indian Agriculture (Click here to read).

1. Rice:

• Geographical Conditions of Growth:
  • Rice grows best in areas of warm, humid climate; rice requires temperatures between 20°C and 35°C and a well-distributed rainfall of about 100 cm or irrigation facilities.
  • Fertile soil. Delta and valley soils are the most suitable. Soils with higher clay content are preferred for its cultivation due to their better moisture retention capacity.
• Important Producing Areas:
  • West Bengal (highest producer), Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab (highest per hectare yield), Bihar, Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Haryana.
  • About 25% of the arable land is used for the cultivation of rice.
• On the basis of climatic conditions, three varieties of rice are found in India:
  • Winter/ Agahani/ Aman – Planted in July-August and harvested in October-December. 86% of the total rice cultivation comes under this variety.
  • Autumnal/ Kuari/Aus – Sown in May-June and harvested in September – October.
  • Summer/Boro – It is sown in November – December and harvested in March-April. It is grown on 1% of the total rice area.

Note: All the above mentioned 3 varieties (aman, aus, boro) are grown in West Bengal and Assam.

• Important varieties: IR-8, Jaya, Padma, Hamsa, Krishna, Sabarmati, and IET 1039.
• India is the 2nd largest producer in the world after China.

2. Wheat

• Geographical Conditions of Growth:
  • It is a crop of temperate climate. The ideal temperature for its cultivation is about 15°-20°C and requires a moderate amount of rainfall of 25-75 cms. It can be grown in the drier areas with the help of irrigation.
  • Well drained loamy and clayey soils are ideal.
• Important Producing Areas:
  • Wheat is cultivated on about 14% of the total arable area of the country.
  • There are two important wheat producing zones in the country – the Ganga-Satluj plains in the north-west and the black soil region in the Deccan.
  • In north India, wheat is sown in October – November and harvested in March – April. In south India, it is sown in September-October and harvested in December – January. Wheat takes lesser time in ripening in south India than that in the north because of hotter climatic conditions in the south.
  • Uttar Pradesh (highest producer), Punjab (highest yield per hectare), Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Bihar, Gujarat, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Uttarakhand.
• Important varieties: Sonalika, Kalyan, Sona, Sabarmati, Lerma, Roso, Heera, Shera, Sonara-64.

3. Maize

• Geographical Conditions of Growth:
  • It is a crop of semi-arid climate and is used both as food and fodder.
  • A temperature of 21°C- 27°C and 50-100cm rainfall is suitable for its cultivation.
  • Alternate spells of rains and sunny weather are ideal for maize.
  • It is a Kharif Crop but in some states like Bihar, it is grown in the rabi season also.
  • It grows well in alluvial and red soils with good drainage. It can also be grown in mountainous soils.

• Important Producing Areas:
  • It is grown on 3.6% of the total sown area in the country.
  • Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh are important maize producing states.
• Important Varieties: Sartaz, Ganga, Deccan-103, Deccan-105, Dhawal, Prabhat, Arun, Kiran etc.

4. Millets:

Jowar, Bajra and Ragi are the important millets grown in India. Though these are known as coarse grains, these have high nutritional value. These are grown on 16.5% of the total sown area in the country.

1. Bajra
   • Geographical Conditions of Growth:
     • It thrives in areas of warm, dry climate.
     • It requires an annual rainfall of 45cm and temperature ranging between 25 to 30°C.
     • It grows well on sandy soils and shallow black soil.
   • Important Producing Areas:
     • Rajasthan is the largest producer of bajra followed by Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Haryana.
2. Jowar
   • Geographical Conditions of Growth:
     • It is a rainfed crop mostly grown in moist areas which hardly needs irrigation.
     • This crop requires moderate rainfall of 30-100cms and high temperatures ranging from 20 to 32°C.
     • Both excessive moisture and prolonged drought are harmful.
     • Well drained light soils are ideal.
   • Important Producing Areas:
     • It is the third most important food crop with respect to area and production.
     • It is cultivated as the major food crop in semi-arid areas of the central and south India.
     • In north India, Jowar is mainly a Kharif crop whereas it is sown as both Kharif and Rabi in the southern states.
     • Maharashtra is the largest producer of jowar followed by Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
     • India is the largest producer of jowar in the world.
3. Ragi
   • Ragi is very rich in iron, calcium, other micro-nutrients and roughage.
   • Geographical Conditions of Growth: It is a crop of dry regions and grows well on red, black, sandy, loamy and shallow black soils.
   • Important Producing Areas: Karnataka is the largest producer of Ragi followed by Tamil Nadu. Other states important for the production of ragi are Himachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Sikkim, Jharkhand and Arunachal Pradesh.

4. Pulses

• Major pulses that are grown in India: tur, urad, moong, masur, peas and gram.
• Chief Characteristics:
  1. India is the largest producer as well as consumer of pulses in the world. About 20% of the pulses of the world are produced here.
  2. These are the major sources of protein in a vegetarian diet.
  3. Being leguminous crops, all the above-mentioned pulses (except tur) help in restoring soil fertility by fixing nitrogen from the air. Therefore these crops are mostly grown in rotation with other crops.

• Geographical Conditions of Growth:
  1. Pulses need less moisture and survive even in dry conditions
• Important Producing Areas: The major pulse producing areas are Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Karnataka. It is grown on about 11% of the total sown area in India.

5. Barley

• Geographical Conditions of Growth:
  • This is grown mainly as a dry crop.
  • This is the crop grown in the wheat producing area on the poor soil and in area of lower precipitation.
  • Although the geographical conditions required for its cultivation are similar to those for wheat, it has more tolerance for adverse environmental conditions.

• Important Producing Areas: The major producers are Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh.

Horticultural Crops (Fruits, Vegetables, Flowers etc.)

• The contribution of horticulture in the total agricultural produce of the country is 30.4% (Year 2012-13)

• Fruits:

  • India produces 10% of the total fruit production in the world and is the second largest producer of fruits in the world.
  • India is the largest producer of mango, banana, cashew, cheekoo, and lemon in the word.
  • India produces both tropical and temperate fruits.

• Vegetables:

  • India is the second largest producer of vegetables in the world and produces about 13% of the world’s vegetables.
  • India is an important producer of potato, pea, cauliflower, onion, cabbage, tomoato and brinjal.

Source

1. Alluvial Soils

• Formation: They are mainly derived from the debris brought down from the Himalayas or the silt left out by the retreating sea. Thus they are azonal soils.
• Areas: Alluvial soils are widespread in the northern plains and the river valleys. Through a narrow corridor in Rajasthan, they extend into the plains of Gujarat. In the Peninsular region, they are found in deltas of the east coast and in the river valleys.
• Soil texture: The alluvial soils vary in nature from sandy loam to clay. These soils are more loamy and clayey in the lower and middle Ganga plain and the Brahmaputra valley. The sand content decreases from the west to east.
• Soil Colour: The colour of the alluvial soils varies from the light grey to ash grey depending on the depth of the deposition, the texture of the materials, and the time taken for attaining maturity.
• Other Characteristic Features:
  • In the Upper and Middle Ganga plain, two different types of alluvial soils have developed, viz. Khadar and Bhangar.

• • Khadar: the newer alluvium deposited by floods annually, enriches the soil by depositing fine silts, light colour, found near river beds, porous in nature.Bhangar: older alluvium, clayey, darker, has lime nodules called Kankars, found in doabs (inter-fluve areas).
  • Alluvial soils of the northern plains —> transported soils —> therefore lack humus —> lack nitrogen [That is why we need to use nitrogenous fertilisers in the northern plains!]. Exception: the Ganga-Brahmaputra delta region is rich in humus.
  • These soils lack in nitrogen, phosphorus and humus. However, they are generally rich in potash and lime.
  • The soil profile has no stratification.
  • Alluvial soils are intensively cultivated.
  • In certain areas, these soils are covered with unproductive wind-borne soil called Loess.

• Limitations:
  • Allow water to sink into lower strata, and
  • Lack nitrogen (But these soils are capable of fixing nitrogen very rapidly through leguminous crops (peas, beans, cloves etc.)
• Suitable Crops: Wheat, rice, maize, sugarcane, pulses, oilseeds, fruits and vegetables, leguminous crops.

2. Black Soil

• These soils are locally known as the ‘Regur Soil’ or the ‘Black Cotton Soil’. Internationally, these are known as ‘tropical chernozems’. These soils are famous for the cultivation of cotton.
• Formation: These have mainly formed from the Deccan Trap rocks —> Zonal Soils
• Areas: These are found in the Deccan trap region. Black soil covers most of the Deccan Plateau which includes parts of:
  • Maharashtra,
  • Madhya Pradesh,
  • Gujarat,
  • Andhra Pradesh and some parts of
  • Tamil Nadu.
• Soil Texture: Black cotton soil (regur soil) is highly argillaceous i.e. clayey. It is deep and impermeable and thus has high water retention capacity.
• Soil Colour: These soils are black in colour due to the presence of iron, aluminium compounds and humus.
• Other Characteristic Features:
  • These soils are rich in minerals and known for their fertility.
  • The soil depth varies from place to place. It is very thick in lowlands but very thin on highlands. Also, in the upper reaches of the Godavari and the Krishna, and the northwestern part of the Deccan Plateau, the black soil is very deep.
  • These soils swell and become sticky when wet and develop deep wide cracks when dry. This helps in self-aeration, which leads to absorption of nitrogen from atmosphere. Thus, there occurs a kind of ‘self ploughing’. This aeration and oxidisation to deep levels contributes to maintenance of fertility of these soils. This continued fertility is favourable in the area of low rainfall for cotton cultivation even without irrigation.
  • Due to slow absorption and loss of moisture, the black soil retains the moisture for a very long time, which helps the crops, especially, the rain fed ones, to sustain even during the dry season.
  • Chemically, the black soils are rich in lime, iron, magnesia and alumina. They also contain potash. But they lack in phosphorous, nitrogen and organic matter.
• Suitable Crops: These soils are highly productive and well suited to the cultivation of cotton, pulses, millets, linseed, tobacco, sugarcane, vegetables and citrus fruits.

Note: In the southern and eastern parts of the country where rainfall is heavy, black soils often occur in close proximity to red soils. Black soils occupy valleys and low-level areas whereas the red soils occur on higher slopes and hill tops. Mixed black and red soils occur in Coimbatore, Madurai, Tirunelveli (Tamil Nadu) and Bundelkhand region.

3. Red and Yellow Soils

• Locally called ‘Chalka’ in Andhra Pradesh.
• Formation: These are derived from granites, gneisses and other metamorphic rocks —> Zonal Soils. These are formed under well-drained conditions.
• Areas: Along the piedmont zone of the Western Ghat, a long stretch of area is occupied by red loamy soil. Yellow and red soils are also found in parts of Orissa and Chattisgarh and in the southern parts of the middle Ganga plain. They encircle the black cotton soil zone.
• Soil Colour: The soil develops a reddish colour due to a wide diffusion of iron in crystalline and metamorphic rocks. It looks yellow when it occurs in a hydrated form. Often, their upper layer is red and the lower layer is yellow.
• Soil Texture: Varies from sand to clay and loam.
• Other Characteristic Features:
  • The fine-grained red and yellow soils are normally fertile, whereas coarse-grained soils found in dry upland areas are poor in fertility.
  • Have a porous and friable structure.
  • They are generally poor in nitrogen, phosphorous and humus.
  • These soils are airy and need irrigation for cultivation.
  • Intense leaching is a menace in these soil areas.
• Suitable Crops: In places where irrigation facilities are available, the crops cultivated are wheat, cotton, pulses, tobacco, millets, oilseeds, potato, maize, groundnut and orchards.

4. Laterite Soil

• The word laterite has been derived from the Latin word ‘Later’ which means brick. These soils when wet are as soft as butter but become hard and cloddy on drying. Therefore, these are widely cut as bricks for use in house construction.
• Formation: The lateritic soils are particularly found on high flat erosion surfaces in areas of high(>200cm) and seasonal rainfall. The alternating wet and dry seasons lead to the leaching away of the siliceous matter of the rocks leaving behind the compounds of iron and aluminium. These are zonal soils.
• Areas: These soils have mainly developed in the higher areas of the Peninsular plateau. The laterite soils are commonly found in Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh and the hilly areas of Orissa and Assam.
• Soil Colour: Reddish brown in colour due to the presence of iron oxide.
• Other characteristic features:
  • With rain, lime and silica are leached away, and soils rich in iron oxide and aluminium compound are left behind(thus the reddish brown colour). Also, humus content of the soil is removed fast by bacteria that thrives well in high temperature.
  • These soils represent the end product of decomposition and are generally low in fertility.
  • The pebbly crust is the important feature of laterites which is formed due to alteration of wet and dry periods.
  • These soils are acidic in character due to leaching. Application of manures and fertilisers is required for making these soils fertile for cultivation.
  • These soils are poor in organic matter, nitrogen, phosphate and calcium, while iron oxide and potash are in excess.
• Suitable crops: Red laterite soils in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala are more suitable for tree crops like cashewnut. These soils are also suitable for tea plantations.

That’s it for this part!