Alluvial soil

A fine-grained fertile soil deposited by water flowing over flood plains or in river
beds. alluvial deposit, alluvial sediment, alluvium, alluvio clay or silt or gravel carried by
rushing streams and deposited where the stream slows down.

Charactristics of Alluvial soi:

1)These are of Transported origin.

2)Alluvial soil as a whole is very fertile.

3)According to their age, these soils have been classified into 2 types:-

~Old Alluvium or Bhangar Soil

~New Alluvium or Khaddar Soil

4)These soils contain adequate proportion of Potash, Lime and Phosphoric acid,
which are ideal for the growth of crops like Sugarcane, etc.
Chemical properties of Alluvial Soils:

 The proportion of nitrogen is generally low.

 The proportion of Potash, phosphoric acid and alkalies are adequate
 The proportion of Iron oxide and lime vary within a wide range.

How alluvial soil formed:

Alluvial soil is the soil brought down by the rivers from the mountains and deposited in
the plains and deltas.

Types of alluvial soil:

1. Khadir or Nali areas
2. Bangar areas and sub soil

Khadir soil:
Khadir is also called Nali are low-lying areas that are floodplains of a river. Khadar areas
are prone to flooding and sometimes include portions of former river-beds that became
available for agriculture when a river changed course. It is moisture retentive and sticky
when wet Khadir soil consists of new alluvial soil deposits and is often very fertile.

Bangar soil:
Bangar areas are beyond floodplains, that lie more upland, and consist of older alluvial soil.
Bangar area are less prone to flooding but are usually more sandy and less fertile as well.

A Bangar area, can be further subdivided into the following based on the type of irrigation

I. Barani:
Area are traditionally rain-fed areas.These are any low rain area where the rain-fed dry
farming is practiced. Bagar tract, the dry sandy tract of land on the border of Rajasthan
state adjoining the states of Haryana and Punjab is an example of Barani land. Not all
the Barani lands are part of the Bagar tract. Some of Brani areas nowadays are
dependent on the tubewells for irrigation wherever groundwater level .
Nahri:

Nahri is any canal-irrigated land, for example, the Rangoi tract is a Nahri area because it is
irrigated by the Rangoi canal made for the purpose of carrying flood waters of Ghagghar
river to the dry bangar areas. For the Nahri lands, Warabandi is a roaster of water to be drawn
from a canal by each farmer for irrigating their land. Chak, based on British Rajera revenue
collection system, is the land revenue settlement/assessment circle marking a contiguous block
of land which has also become synonymous with the name of village founded by migrant
farmers within the revenue circle.

Chahi:
Chahi is any land that is irrigated through wells/tube wells Chahi Khalis is the land
irrigated only by the well. Chahi Nahri is the land partly irrigated by the well and partly by the
canal. Chahi Sailab is the land within Kadhir areas which is partly irrigated by the well and partly
by the floods. Chahi Taal or Taal is land irriga ted by johad (pond).

Advantages of Alluvial soi:

 They are rich in humus and are very fertile.
 They are also rich in potassium and highly suitable for agriculture.

Non-Alluvial soil:
Alluvium is loose, unconsolidated (not cemented together into a solid rock) soil or sediment
that has been eroded, reshaped by water in some form, and redeposited in a non-marine
setting. The soil which is formed by the disintegration of rock formation is known as non-
Alluvial soil.
 Fig2:Non-Alluvial soil

How non-Alluvial soil formed :

It is found in the mountainous region of river. the soil is hard and impermeable in nature. this is
not fertile. The river passing through this type of soil has no tendency to change it course.