Soils of M.P.

Soils of Madhya Pradesh

Soil Science

Contents

Preface

I.        Land Utilization Pattern

II.        Agro-climatic Regions

III.         Physiography

IV.        Climate

V.       Vegetation

VI.      Soils

VII.        Problem Soils

VIII.         Soil Status and Fertilizer Management

IX.        Fertilizer Recommendations for Important Crops

X.       Techniques of Efficient Fertilizer Use

 

Preface

Soils of Madhya Pradesh are varied in types, and are suitable for production of different crops. However the avalability of soil nutrients vary in different areas, posing a large number of problems. This booklet gives detail information with respect to soil nutrient status, problem soils and their management for better crop production.

 

I. Land Utilization Pattern

Land is mainly utilized for agriculture and forest products. Land use pattern of the state is given in Table 1.

Table 1: Land use pattern

Sl.No	Land use	Area (mha)	Area (%)
1	Total geographical area	44.3
2	Reporting area of land utilization	44.2	100.00
3	Forest	14.0	31.67
4	Not available for cultivation	4.6	10.40
5	Other uncultivated land excluding fallow land	4.8	10.85
6	Fallow land	1.9	4.29
7	Net area sown	18.8	42.53
8	Area sown more than once	2.9	-
	Total cropped area	21.7	-
	Total	44.1	99.74

II. Agro-climatic Regions

The cultivated area is divided in five agro climatic zones, having major crops under cultivation, as given in Table 2.

Table 2. District wise crop zones and agro climatic zones

Sl.No	Crop zone	Agro-climatic region	Districts covered
1	Rice zone	1. Chhattisgarh plains including Balaghat dist. Kanker tehsil of Bastar, Raigarh, Sarangarh and Ghanghoda tehsil of Raigarh	Balaghat
		2. Northern hill region	Shahdol,, Mandla, Singrauli tehsil of Sidhi.
2	Rice wheat zone	3. Kymore plateau & Satpura hills	Rewa, Satna, Panna, Jabalpur, Seoni, Gopadbanes and Deosar tehsils of Sidhi
3	Wheat zone	4. Vindhyan plateau	Damoh, Sagar, Vidisha, Bhopal, Raisen (except Bareli tehsil), Sehore (except Budni tehsil) Chachoda and Raghogarh tehsil of Guna
		5. Central Narmada valley	Narsinghpur, Hoshangabad (except Harda tehsil), Budni tehsil of Sehore, Bareli tehsil of Raisen
4	Sorghum wheat zone	6. Gird region	Gwalior, Morena, Bhind and Shivpuri, Ashok Nagar and Mungeli tehsils of Guna
		7. Bundelkhand	Datia, Tikamagarh, region Chhatarpur, Karera and Picchor tehsils of Shivpuri, Guna tehsil of Guna dt.
		8. Satpura plateau	Betul and Chhindwara
5	Cotton sorghum	9. Malwa plateau	Mandsaur, Rajgarh, Ujjain, Indore, Dewas Shajapur Ratlam, Badnawar and Sardarpur tehsil of Dhar and Petlawad tehsil of Jhabua
		10. Nimar Valley	Khandwa and Khargone Harda tehsil of Hoshangabad district and Manawar tehsil of Dhar
		11. Jhabua hills	Thandla, Jhabua, Jobat and Alirajpur tehsil of Jhabua district and Kukshi tehsil of Dhar

III. Physiography

Physiographically the state has been divided into Gird region, Malwa plateau, Satpura Ridge, Narmada valley and Chhatisgarh plains. Important rivers in northern parts of the state are Chambal, Kalisindh, Parbati, Betwa, Dhasan and Sone, which join Yamuna and Ganges. Narmada is the most important river of the state which passes through Gujarat and joins Arabian sea. Mahanadi and lndravati are other important rivers.

IV. Climate

The rainfall varies from 750 to 1600 mm. Chhattisgarh plains receive the highest rainfall from 1200-16&0 mm followed by Malwa plateau (750-1250 mm). The bulk of the annual precipitation is received during monsoon period i.e. from June to October.

Maximum temperature in April and May ranges from 380 to 44°C. The minimum temperature during December and January varies between 70 to 13OC.

 

V. Vegetation

About 35 % of the total area of the state is under forest vegetation. Semi-xerophytic vegetation (thorny and bushy type) prevails in Gird region and Malwa plateau. Vindhya, Satpura and other hilly ranges are fully covered with deciduous type like dhak (Butea monosperma), sal (Shorea robusta), anjan (Cenchrus spp), Teak (Tectona grandis), etc. Chhattisgarh plains arc full with sal, anjan, teak, tendu (Diospyros melanoxylon), etc. constitute the major forest wealth of the state.

 

VI. Soils

The major soil groups are alluvial balck (deep, medium and shallow) mixed red and black, red and yellow and skeletal soils. Black soils cover about 47.6 % of the total area of the state followed by red and yellow soils about 36.5 per cent.

1. Alluvial soils

These soils cover about 4.6 per cent of the total area of the state. These soils have been developed by the Indo gangetic alluvium laid down by Chambal river. The colour of these soils are pale yellow to yellowish brown in Bhind and parts of Morena district. The soils are dark greyish brown to dark brown. The surface texture may vary from sandy loam to loam, clay loam and even to clay. The illuviation of finer particles ensures fine texture of the middle horizons. Soils are neutral to alkaline in soil reaction. Salinity hazards are visible at some places like Mehgaon and Gohad tehsils of Bhind district and Jora, Sabalgarh and Sheopur Kalan of Morena district. Carbonates are found in increasing order with depth.

2. Black soils

These soils are derived from the Deccan trap and are known as the regur or black cotton soil. They vary in texture from loam to clay. Lime concretions are commonly present. Deep cracks generally develop in summer, in areas consisting of predominantly montmorillonite type of clays. These soils have been developed by the deposition of augite, calcic plagioclages, olivine and other ferro-magnesium minerals. Black soils have been divided into three sub groups:

a. Deep black soils

These soils cover the 3.5 % area of the total black soils. These soils are deep (more than 100 cm depth) and are dark greyish brown in colour. Clay content generally ranged from 40 to 60 per cent. These soils have further been sub-divided into black, dark brown, dark yellowish brown and mixed soils. These soils have high moisture retention capacity.

b. Medium black soils

These soils cover the 37 % area of 47.6 per cent of black soils. The soils vary in depth from 30 to 100 cm are slightly coarse in texture. These soils are usually dark brown in colour with some light coloured or reddish coloured patches. Clay  content may vary from 20 to 40 per cent. Malwa plateau has undulating plain with a few ranges of hills. Natural drainage usually flow from the south to north. A mixture of black and alluvial soils are found in Nimar valley especially in south western districts of Jhabua, Dhar and adjascent hilly areas.

c. Shallow black soils

These soils cover the rest part of the black soils which is not covered by the deep black soils and medium black soils. i.e. about 7.1 % of the total black soils. These soils are further sub divided into dark brown clayey and loamy rice soils, black soils and poor fight hilly soils. These soils are distributed among the Satpura ridge comprising the districts of Seoni, Chhindwara and Betul.

3. Mixed red and black soils

These soils cover the 9.3 % area of the total area of the state. Red and black soils are found alternately. Red soils are coarse textured and are devoid of lime concretions and free carbonates. Kaolinite is the predominant clay mineral found in such soils. Black soils found in the area are of different types viz black clayey and less dark clayey and contain inter-grades of montmorillonite, illite and kaolinite type of clay minerals. These soils are found in the eastern part of Gird and most part of Bundelkhand.

4. Red and yellow soils

Red and yellow soils exist together in this group. These soils cover the 36.5 per cent of the total area of the state. Yellow colouration is due to higher degree of hydration of ferric oxide than in the red soils. Soil texture mostly varies from silty loam to silty clay loam. They are poor in calcium but iron concretions are usaully present in lower horizons. In this group four main type of soils are found viz:

(a) Kanhar soils -Deep clayey soils with 43-56 % clay.

(b) Dorsa soils -Yellow sandy loam soils with 18-22 per cent clay.

(c) Matasi soils -It is a mixture of Kanhar soils and Dorsa soils with medium texture.

(d) Bhata soils -It is a reddish yellow gravelly sandy soils of the barren waste lands of the upland region.

The Red and yellow soils are found in the area of Chhatisgarh plains and Mahanadi basin. The above soils have been developed by the deposition of shales with quartzite intercalations and lime stones conglomerates, quartzite, sand-stone and silicious shales.

5. Skeletal soils (Gravelly soils}

These soils covers 2 % of the total area of state. It has been developed by the deposition of minerals viz, conglomerates, quartizite, sandstone and shales. These soils are gravelly in nature but some patches of good black soils have also been found. Soils of Mandla district which come in the group and are also known as barra soils are very poor for producing any good crops.

VII. Problem Soils

Some problem soils are also found in the State of Madhya Pradesh. These are

1. Saline alkali soils

Saline alkali soils in the state cover an area of about 0.224 m ha. In Malwa tract alone nearly 20-30 thousand ha have gone out of the production. The soils have been seen in the Dhar and Ujjain district. These soils, with well developed columnar or block structure, ranged in pH and EC between 8.3-9.8 and 0.2-4.7 mm ha/cm respectively, with 15 % exchangeable sodium.

Out of the 0.72 m. ha of Chambal command area covering the district of Bhind and Morena, about 0.045 m ha soil has turned into saline, sodic and saline sodic. Some parts of Gohad, Mehgaon, Bhind, Iora, Sabalgarh, Morena, Ambah and Sehpukalan tehsils have been affected by these soils.

The texture of these soils vary from loam to clay loam throughout the profile.

2. Acid soil

The acidic soils are usually found in the eastern parts of the Madhya Pradesh. The approximate area of such soils has been found out to be 7145 and 10969 ha as highly acidic (PH 5.0 to 5.5) and 12888 and 3572 ha as acidic (PH 5.5 to 6.0) in Surguja and Bastar districts respectively.

3. Ravines

There is a considerable extent of area affected by ravines, mostly along the banks of river Chambal, Kalisindh and their tributaries. Out of the 0.72 m ha of Chambal command area, about 0.224 m ha land has been converted into ravines.

VIII. Soil Status and Fertilizer Management

The soils of the state show varied types of availability of macro and micro elements.

 

A. NPK availability

The NPK availability in different parts of the state is detailed.

1. Nitrogen

Nitrogen is almost universally low except in a few districts where it is medium.

2. Phosphorus

Phosphorous is usually medium but in some cases low or high.

3. Potassium

Potassium is either medium or high in the soils. Table 3 gives the number of districts under low, medium and high in the level of availability of NPK nutrients and Table 5 gives more details about the same.

Table 3: No.of districts in different fertility status

Sl.No	Available nutrient	Low	Medium	High
1	Nitrogen	38	7	Nil
2	Phosphorus	12	27	6
3	Potassium	Nil	20	25

Depending upon the status of the three major nutrients these soils have been divided into ten fertility categories. The catagories are detailed in Table 4.

Table 4:  Soil fertility categories in Madhya Pradesh

Sl.No	NPK		District	Soils
1	I	LLM	i.              Damoh ii.             Seoni	Medium black Shallow black Red & yellow
2	II	LLH	i.          Satna	Mixed red & black
3	III	LMM	i.              Ratlam ii.             Sidhi, Chatarpur and Rewa iii.            Balaghat	Medium black Mixed red & black Red & yellow
4	IV	LMH	i.              Narsinghpur ii.             Mandsaur, Rajgarh, Shajapur, Ujjain, Dewas, Sehore, Bhopal, Vidisha and Raisen iii.            Betul and Chhindwara iv.           Datia, Shivpuri and Guna v.            Morena, Bhind and Gwalior	Deep black Medium black Shallow black Mixed red & black Alluvial
5	V	LHM	i.              Dhar	Medium black
6	VI	LHH	i.              Hoshangabad ii.             Indore, Khandwa and Khargone	Deep black Medium black
7	VII	MLM	i.              Shahdol and Bastar	Red & yellow
8	VIII	MMM	i.              Jabalpur ii.             Panna iii.            Mandla	Medium black Mixed red & black Skeletal
9	IX	MMM	i.              Tikamgarh	Mixed red & black
10	X	MHH	i.              Jhabua	Red & yellow

L = Low, M = Medium, H = High

B. Other nutrients

The avalability of micro nutrients in different soils of the state is disscussed in detail.

1. Deficiency of sulphur

The soils of state are deficient in sulphur. The districts of Jabalpur, Narsinghpur, Betul, Seoni, Chhindwara, Sagar, Damoh, Raisen, Bhopal, Sehore, Dewas, Dhar, Indore, Khandwa, Ujjain, Mandsaur and Ratlam districts are deficient in sulphur. The soils from Betul, Chhindwara, Narsinghpur and Seoni districts have been found highly responsive to the application of sulphur taking lucero as the test crop.

2. Zinc

            There is a wide spread deficiency of zinc in soils of this state and deficiency is acute in soils of Morena, Bhind, Gwalior, Datia, Guna, Satna, Jabalpur,  and Khargone districts. In these districts application of 25 to 50 kg of zinc sulphate per hectare every 3 or 4 years is recommended.

3. Manganese

Some districts of Madhya Pradesh like Morena, Bhind, Jabalpur, Gwalior and Datia have been reported deficient in manganese. But it is not very wide spread nor very acute except in Bhind and Datia.

4. Iron and Copper

According to the sample tested, none of them has been found to be deficient in Fe and Cu.

 

IX. Fertilizer recommendations for Important Crops

These recommendation of fertilizers can be used by the farmer if he is unable to get his soil tested but wherever soil. testing facility is within his reach, the farmer should get his soil tested and follow the recommendation given on the basis of soil test results. Fertilizer recommendations for different crops in M.P. are given in table No.5.

Table 5: Fertilizer recommendations for different crops

Sl.No	Crop	Unirrigated (kg/ha) N:P2O5:K2O	Irrigated (kg/ha) N:P2O5:K2O
	Kharif
1	Rice Early
	i.              Dwarf ii.             Tall	- -	40:30:20 30:20:10
	Medium
	i.              Dwarf ii.             Tall	-	60:40:25 40:30:20‘
	Late
	i.              Dwarf ii.             Tall	-	80:50:30 50:35:25
2	Sorghum	20:20:0	100:60:40
3	Maize Early	-	75:40:25
	Late	-	100:50:40
4	Green gram	8:20:0	-
5	Black gram	8:20:0	-
6	Groundnut	8:16:8	-
7	Cotton	8:20:0	100:50:25
8	Soyabean (local)	10:40:10	-
	Rabi
9	Wheat	50:20:20	80:20:10
10	Potato	-	60:100:100
11	Sugarcane	-	300:85:80
12	Gram	15:30:0	25:60:0
13	Lentil	15:30:0	20:50:0
14	Mustard	35:20:10	70:30:20
15	Linseed	30:15:0	60:30:0

Half of the total nitrogen is applied as basal dose and rest is split into two or three doses and applied at the time of irrigation or after 25-30 days after sowing.

Potassium fertilizers are applied only when the soils show low rating.

X. Techniques for Efficient Fertilizer Use

The efficiency of nitrogenous fertilizers is not generally more than 50 percent in any case and in case of traditional rice it is even much less (30 percent). Hence several methods of improving their efficiency have been evolved and suggested.

1.Split application

A 3 to 5 percent solution of urea applied in the form of spray on the foliage of the crop has also proved to be useful in increasing the efficiency of the fertilizers.

2. SIow release nitrogenous fertilizers

These can be classified into two categories

(i) Chemicals -Which inherently have the capacity of releasing nitrogen slowly such as urea form (UF), isobutylidene , diurea (IBDU), oxamide and crotonilidene diurea (CDU).

(ii) Fertilizers -Coated with semi permeable membrane or inert material such as sulphur coated urea (SCU), neem cake coated urea (NCCU), Karanj cake coated urea (KCCU) and salseed cake coated urea (SCCU).

By the experimental studies, the coating of urea with salseed cake considerably increased the efficiency of applied nitrogen by retarding the rate of release of nitrogen.

3. Nitrification inhibitors

The retardation in the rate of nitrification of applied ammonia and amid, these can also reduce the losses and increase the efficiency of applied nitrogen. Some chemicals which have nitrification inhibiting properties when blended with nitrogenous fertilizers can considerably increase the efficiency of N. The most popular nitrification inhibitors are N-serve, AM, Thiourea, Dicyandiamide and ST.