Geography (Part 9 Soils in India)

 The Indian Council of Agricultural Research has classified Indian soils into following
categories.
1. Alluvial soil Regions-Ganga-Brahmaputra valley, Godavari and Krishna delta, Plains
of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarkhand, Punjab, Haryana, West Bengal, Bihar and coastal strip
of peninsular India. Main cultivation cereals, pulses, cotton, sugarcane, jute.
2. Black soils Regions-Deccan trap, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil
Nadu, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh Main cultivation cotton.
3. Red and Yellow soils Regions-Eastern part of Deccan plateau, southern stares of
Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Chhota Nagpur plateau (Jharkhand). Main
cultivation pulses, coarse grains, wheat, millet, cotton, potato chilies and groundnuts.
4. Laterite soil Region- Deccan, Andhra Pradesh, Eastern Ghats region of Orissa,
Mysore, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, hill submit of Karnataka and Meghalaya. Main
cultivation cotton,rice,whea,pulse,tea,coffee,cashewnuts.
5. Saline and alkaline soils Regions-Dry tracts of north especially in Bihar, Uttar
Pradesh, Punjab and Rajasthan. Main cultivation none. This soil is Harmful to crops.
6. Peat and Marshy soils Regions-Kerala, the coastal tracts or Orissa, the sunder bans,
some parts of Bengal, north Bihar and south-east Tamil Nadu. Main cultivation
Used for light and less soil exhaustive crops.
7. Arid soils (Desert soils) Regions-western Rajasthan. Main cultivation-jowar, bajara,
ragi, and oil seeds.
8. Forest soils Region- Milly areas of Assam, Uttar Pradesh, the sub-Himalayan tract
and coorg in Karnataka. Main cultivation- Rice and wheat.

Area under Different Soils

Type of Soils % of area

Alluvial 22.16
Black 29.69
Red and Yellow 28.00
Lateriate 2.62
Saline and Alkaline 1.29
Peat and Marshy 2.17
Desert or Arid 6.13
Forest 7.94

Main Indian Crops and their Production areas

Type Name of the Crop Major Production Areas
Cereals Wheat Uttar Pradesh, Punjab,
Harayan
Rice West Bengal, Tamil Nadu
Gram Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu
Barley Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh,
Rajasthan
Bajra Maharashtra, Gujarat,
Rajasthan
Cash Crops Sugarcane Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra
Poppy Uttar Pradesh, Himachal
Pradesh, Punjab

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 Oil Seeds Coconut Kerala, Tamil Nadu
Linseed Madhya Pradesh, Uttar
Pradesh
Ground nut Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat,
Tamil Nadu
Rape and Mustard Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh
Sesame Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan
Sunflower Maharashtra, Karnataka
Fiber Crops Cotton Maharashtra, Gujarat
Jute West Bengal, Bihar
Silk Karnataka, Kerala
Hemp Madhya Pradesh, Uttar
Pradesh
Plantations Coffee Karnataka, Kerala
Rubber Kerala, Tamil Nadu,
Karnataka
Tea Assam, Kerala
Tobacco Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya
Pradesh
Spices Pepper Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil
Nadu
Cashewnuts Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra
Pradesh
Ginger Kerala, Uttar Pradesh
Turmeric Andhra Pradesh, Orissa
Cardamom Karnataka, Kerala, Sikkim,
Tamil Nadu
Chilies Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh
Castor seed Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh
Saffron Jammu and Kashmir

Positions of India in the Production of Different Items

Item Position in World Item Position in World
Milk 1 Wheat 2
Banana 1 Groundnut 2
Fruits 1 Sugarcane 2
Jute 1 Vegetables 2
Mango 1 Cotton 3
Millets 1 Potato 3
Pulses 1 Tobacco 3
Spices 1 Rubber 4
Tea 1 Orange 4
Rice 2 Coffee 6

 6.5% field out of total field under cultivation is used to produce food grains.
 White revolution and operation flood is related to milk.
 Black revolution is related to petroleum.
 Blue revolution is related to fishing.
 Brown revolution is related to non-conventional energy.
 Yellow revolution is related to oilseeds.
 Green revolution is related to good grains.

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  Punjab has maximum productivity (per hectare) of wheat. Harayana stands at 2 nd position.
 India is the largest producer, exporter and consumer of spices in world.
 India is the largest producer of tea but in export, it has second position after Sri Lanka due to
large consumption of tea.
 Per hectare production of rubber in India is largest
 Rice covers largest area of under cultivation.
 Maharashtra is the largest producer of fruits and the largest area under fruits is also in
Maharashtra
 India producer many varieties of raw silk, the mulberry and the tassar are the most important.
 India has second position in Inland fishing and third position in total fishing in the world.
 India has fifth position in the production of eggs.
 India is the largest producer of leather.

Irrigation
 Three means of irrigation, wells, tanks and canals used in India.
♦ Wells It accounts for more than 40 percent of the net irrigated are. States where well
irrigation is practiced are Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Punjab, Haryana etc. 20% of
total wells in India are in U.P.
♦ Tanks The tanks are a common source of irrigation in the peninsular region. It accounts for
about 8 percent of the net irrigated area. States where tank irrigation is practiced (in
decending order) are Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, west Bengal etc.
♦ Canals It account for more than 40 percent of the net irrigated area. States where canal
irrigation is practiced (in decending ordered) are Jammu and Kashmir, Orissa, West Bengal,
Assam, Haryana etc.
♦ 55.6% of total field under cultivation has facility of irrigation.
♦ Only U.P. has 22.5% of irrigation field.
♦ In area, M.P. has largest area under cultivation.
♦ Punjab has first position in percent irrigated area f total area under cultivation.

TO BE CONTINUED…

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