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Orissa Review * November - 2005

Soil of Orissa and Its Management

Dr. G.C. Sahu Antaryami Mishra

The State of Orissa covering geographical area 1. Red (Haplustalfs, Rhodustalfs, of 15.57 million ha. lies in the tropical belt in the Ustorthents) 0 0 eastern regions of between 17 .47'-22 33' Red soil covers about 7.14m. ha of lands 0 0 N latitude and 81 31'-87 30' E longitudes. The and being the highest coverage of all soil groups climate is characterized by high temperature and of the state, extend to the districts of Koraput, medium rainfall. The average annual rainfall of the Rayagada, Nawrangpur, Malkanagiri, Keonjhar, State is 1500mm and the mean annual temperature Ganjam, Kalahandi, Nuapada, Bolangir, is 26.20C. The mean summer and winter Dhenkanal and Mayurbhanj. Presence of excess temperatures are 30.30C and 21.30C amounts of oxides of imparts red colours to respectively. the soil. The of the former four districts are heavier in texture and the rest of the districts have The physiographic classifications of the light textured soil. The soils have angular or sub State are (1) The Northern Plateau, (2) Central angular blocky strucuture. The fraction of Table land, (3) Eastern Ghat, and (4) Coastal these soils is dominated by kaolinites and illites. plain. Integrating the effect of land-form, The soils are strongly to moderately acidic topography, climate, soil and crop adaptability, with low to medium organic mater status and poor the state has been divided into ten (10) agro- water retentive capacity. These soils are deficient climatic zones. The soils of Orissa have been in nitrogen and phosphorus. Micronutrients like divided in to 8 broad soil groups. Taxonomically boron and molybdenum are highly deficient in these 8 broad groups of soil come under 4 orders, these soils. These soils have low cation exchange 10 suborders and 18 great groups. capacity with high phosphate and sulphur absorption property and deficient in calcium and Each soil group is associated with specific . Water soluble phosphates get fixed characters and problems posing contraints for and become non available to crop plants. higher agriculture production. These characters Applications of in-soluble phosphates two weeks have been identified and special attentions are before sowing seeds or mixed application of made to increase the productivity. The characters insoluble rock phosphates and single super of each soil alongwith their management practices phosphate at equal proportion (1:1) makes the are discussed below. best utilization of phosphate. Soil acidity is

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Orissa Review * November - 2005

corrected by application of lime. Application of Fruit trees like mango, guava and banana grow 1 to 2 t/ha of papermill sludge corrects soil acidity. well in these soils. Winter vegetables and groundnut crops need 3. Black Soil : (Chromusterts, Us-torthents) application of 10 to 15 kg. borax/ha. Seed treatment with sodium molybdate at 10g/25 kg There are no regular occurrence of black seeds corrects molybdenum deficiency in pulses soils in the state. These soils occur sporadically and groundnut crops. Application of in the districts of Puri, Ganjam, Malkangiri, phosphogypsum at 200 kg/ha meets the sulphur Kalahandi, Nuapada, Bolangir, Sonepur, Boudh, demand of oil seed crops. Crops like rice, finger Sambalpur, Bargarh and Angul covering an area , minor , niger, , brinjal and fruit of 0.96 m. ha. of lands. The black colour of the trees such as mango, jack fruit, guava, papaya soil is due to presence of titaniferous magnetite, and sapota are grown successfully in these soils. humins, bitumins etc. These soils are formed due to weathering of basic rocks in the low lying areas. 2. Mixed red and Yellow Soil :- (Haplustalfs, Paleustalfs, Ustochrepts). These soils are heavier in texture having These soils occupy 5.5m ha of lands being clay content more than 30 percent. Clay minerals the second highest in area. These soils occur in are dominated with smectites for which deep the district of Sambalpur, Bargarh, Deogarh, and cracks are observed during summer. The effective Sundargarh. Mixed red and yellow soils occur as soil depth extends to more than 90 cm. The soils a catenary associations in undulating and rolling swell on wetting holding maximum amount of terrains which differ in depth, texture, and colour. moisture. Permeability of these soils is slow which The soils are moderately shallow in depth and result in severe surface soil erosion. coarse-textured. The upland soils are more The soil pH is neutral to alkaline having shallower and lighter in texture than the low land free calcium carbonate nodules in the profile. The soils. Presence of ferruginous concretions and soil is rich in calcium but deficient in phosphorus, fluctuation of water table imparts the mixed red potassium, zinc and boron. Upland rice suffers and yellow colour to the soil. The upland soils from iron deficiency. Groundnut, mustard and are moderately acidic whereas, low land soils are safflower are found to respond to application of slightly acidic. The low land soils are formed mainly sulphur. Ammonia volatilization is higher in paddy by colluvial deposits. fields. The upland soils are low in nitrogen and Soil moisture stress conditions set early phosphorous wheras, the low land soils are under drought. Either at low or high moisture medium in phosphate and high in potassium. conditions the soil could not be ploughed. Upland light textured soils are deficient in boron Management of these soils is difficult. Tillage and lowland soils with rice-rice cropping system operations should be completed at right moisture under Hirakud command area are deficient in zinc. consistency. Green manuring and application of Soil acidity can be correced through liming. bulkly organic manures help in increasing water The upland soils are suitable for crops infiltration rates. Recycling of rice straw improves like rice, finger millet sugarcane, potato, brinjal, the aggregability of these soils. The soil is suitable tomato and pointed guard. The low and soils are for growing rice, jowar, bajra, maize, Bengal gram, suitable for paddy following pulse as pyra crops. safflower, mustard and .

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Orissa Review * November - 2005

4. Laterite Soil : (Haplustalfs, Plinthustalfs, millets and sesamum can grow well with proper Ochraqualfs) fertilizer application. Fruit trees like mango, jack Lateritic soils occupy 0.70m. ha of lands fruit, banana, guava, and sapota grow well in this in the districts of Puri, Khurda, Nayagarh, soil. Cuttack, Dhenkanal, Keonjhar, Mayurbhanja and 4. deltaic alluvial : Soils (Haplaquepts, Sambalpur. Lateritic soils are characterised by Fluvaquents, Ustochrepts) compact vesicular structure and rich in hydrated Those soils cover 0.67m. ha of lands and oxides of iron and with small amounts occur in the deltaic regions of the rivers such as of manganese, titanium and quartz. Degraded Mahanadi, Brahamani, Baitarani, Subarnarekha laterites are honey combed structure and found and Rushikullya in the districts of Balasore, in the districts of Khurda and Cuttack. These soils Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, are loamy to sandy in the surface having Cuttack, Puri, Gajapati and Ganjam. Textural hard clay pan in the subsoil, crusting is its problem class of the soil varies from coarse sand to clay in upland literite. Presence of higher amount of and is mostly dependent on geomorphology of exchangeable aluminium and manganese results the flood plain and the type of alluvial material in slightly acidic to strongly acidic soil with pH carried by river water. The structure may be ranging between 4.5 to 5.8. granular or platy. The latter structured soil is These soils are poorly fertile with low difficult to handle. Alluvial soils of clayey texture organic matter. Available nitrogen and phosphate crack upon drying and becomes sticky when wet. are low and potash is medium. Nitrogen is lost The plough-share is loaded with heavy clay and due to and phosphate becomes becomes difficult to work. Water holding capacity unavailable due to fixation by Fe and AI oxides. of this type of soil is high. Once water-logged, Cation exchange capacity of the soil is low and it the clay soil takes more time to become is low in percentage base saturation. Sulphur is ploughable. Drainage is difficult due to slow absorbed as pyrites or zine sulphide. permeability. Medium and low land soils adjacent to Deltaic alluvial soils are generally fertile uplands suffer from iron toxicity due to literal but fertility decreases if the soil is not recharged movement of soluble iron from upper ridges. regularly by flood. pH is acidic to neutral. The Crops can be raised better in these soils through coarse textured soils are deficient with N, P, K proper soil management such as, liming, and S. application of organic manure, growing green Deltaic alluvial soils are suitable for rice manure crops and applying balanced fertilizer with in kharif and for groundnut, mustard, sesamum, application of paper mill sludge (1 to 2 t/ha). potato and vegetables in Rabi. With residual soil Groundnut and pulses could be grown sucessfully moisture, groundnut, greengram and black gram in these acidic soil. Potato and other vegetables are grown very successfully. can grow well without liming. Application of mixture of water soluble and insoluable phosphatic 5. Coastal Saline and Alluvial Soil : fertilizers increases the crop yield. Soil application (Halaquepts, Halaquepts) of boron and seed treatment with molybdenum Alluvial soils with high total soluble salts improve legume yields. Rice, finger millet, miner (EC-4ds/m) are included in this group. These soils

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Orissa Review * November - 2005

occur along the coastal belt of the state in a narrow mustard, barley, linseed, chilli, sugarbeet, tomato, strip extending 5-25 km inward. The salinity spinach and some cucurbits grow well in these occurs due to litteral deposits of esturial intrusion soils. Cotton is a successful crop in saline soil if of brackish tidal water from sea through creeks. managed properly. Nearly 0.254m ha. of saline soils are distributed Coastal saline soils with high in the districts of Balasore, Bhadrak exchangeable sodium but acidic in reaction could Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Puri, Khurda and be reclaimed by application of lime which Ganjam. Saline soils are rich in soluble salts of replaces some of the exchangeable Na+ or H+ chloride and sulphate in conjunction with sodium by Ca ++. Use of organic manures, recyling of and magnesium. Soils of lacustrine sediments of straw and incoroporating green manure crops lake Chilika also get affected by salts due to reduce the salinity and alkalinity and improve soil flooding of brackish lake water in the districts of structure. Puri, Khurda and Ganjam. During monsoon a build-up of subsoil salinity occurs due to high Cropping on sides of alternate ridges of ground water table under low lying situation. irrigated furrows with the intermediate furrow left as fallow and frequent light are some of These soils are mostly clay to clay loam the cultural practices that save crops from salinity. in texture and columnar in structure. The pH of Preventive measures such as construction of salt these soils varies between 6.0 to 8.0 with a embarkments, provision of suitable drainage conductivity of 10-40 dS/m in the summer. The system, flush out the soluble salts, construction of exchangeable sodium percentage varies between sluices across the creeks, raising shelter belts over 18 to 27. The soils are rich in nitrogen, potassium and near saline belts check salinity hazards to a and low to medium in phosphorus. The saline soils great extent. are sufficient in sulphate, boron, molybdenum and chloride. Failure of crops normally occurs due to 6. Brown Soil : (Haplustalfs, (i) plasmolysis of germinating seeds and roots Ustochrepts, Rhodustalfs) (ii) death of young seedlings, (iii) reduced uptake These soils being associated with forest of K, Ca and Mg due to presence of excess Na, areas are distributed in the districts of Phulbani, (iv) toxicity due to B and (v) hydrogen sulphide Kandhamal, Rayagada and parts of Ganjam and injury. Nayagarh and cover about 0.17 m.ha. These are However, during rainy seasons the salinity brown to gray brown in colour, light texture and hazards are low due to dilution and flushing of acidic in reaction. Organic matter and nitrogen soluble salts by heavy rains. Rice is the main kharif content of the soils are medium to high. crop with usual and well distributed rainfall. Phosphorus and potash content are medium. The Although kharif rice does not suffer very much contents of most of the micronutrient are high from salinity, very often early drought and cyclonic barring molybdenum. Under slopy terrain soil sea water inundation cause hazards to rice. Salt erosion occurs making lands barren. Shifting tolerant high yielding rice varieties like Lunisharee, cultivation is regular practice causing land SR-26B and Mohan out yield the local saline degradation. resistant varieties like Sola, Pateni and Cuttack Land shapping and checking 'podu Chandi. Salt tolerant rabi crops such as safflower, cultivation' would improve the soil and land

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Orissa Review * November - 2005

management. With proper moisture conservation, The soils are light to medium textured soil are most suitable for growing ginger, turmeric having neutral pH. Black soils are rich in calcium and tapioca. Maize, and mustard grow well and red soils are dominant with iron-giving in this soil. In the marginal lands niger comes up catenary formation to the soil. The soils are deep successfully with use of nitrogen fertilizer. with medium fertility status. The lowland soils Horticultural crops like jackfruit, mango, guava growing rice are deficient in zinc. Rice, sugarcane and citrus are the established fruit crops in these maize, ragi, groundnut, sesamum and all types of soils. Social forestry plantations are taken up vegetable crops are cultivated successfully with successfully in the degraded soils. adequate fertilizer application. 7. Mixed red and black soil (Association of Soils of Orissa influenced by climate, , Vertisols and Vertic Intergrades) topography and parent material are the most These soils occur as association of both heterogeneous for which the average productivity red and black soil together in which black soil of many crops is low. Identification of specific occurs in patches within the predominant red soil. soil problems and their efficient management The red and black soils are so intermixed that would accelerate the crop productivity. red soils are found in upper ridges whereas, black soils occur in lower ridges. The soil occupies Dr. G.C. Sahu and Antaryami Mishra are Associate about 0.16 m.ha of lands in the western districts Professors in the Department of Soil Science and Agril. of Sambalpur, Bargarh, Sonepur and Bolangir. Chemistry, OUAT, Bhubaneswar.

Hon'ble Chief Minister Shri Naveen Patnaik watching the MIP Project from the Tower at Deras on 11.10.2005.

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