SOILS OF LAKSHADWEEP : Their Kinds, Distribution, Characterization and Interpretations FOR OPTIMISING LAND USE National Bureau of Soil Survey and ~and ~se ~Ianing (Indian Council of Agricultural Research) ¥. Nagpur-440 010 ~"i: Regional Centre, Bangalore - 560 024, [n Co-operation with Department of Agriculture, Lakshadweep Administration Kavaratti-673555 SOILS OF LAKSHADWEEP FOR OPTIMISING LAND USE SOILS OF LAKSHADWEEP : Their Kinds, Distribution, Characterization and Interpretations FOR OPTIMISING LAND USE P. Krishnan L.G.K. Naidu V.M. Shamsuddin N.G. Raghu Mohan J. Sehgal M.Vclayutham National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planing (Indian Council of Agricultural Research) ¥. Nagpur-440 010 ~"": Regional Centre, Bangalore - 560 024. In Co-operation with Department of Agriculture, Lakshadweep Administration Kavaratti-673555 . FORE\VORD In order to meet the ever increasing food requirement of the growing population and depleting natural resources there is a need to produce more and more food from a unit area of land. For maintaining the soils in a state of high productivity on sustainable basis, there is a need of rational use of these soils and water resources with respect to their health for the sustenance of the society as a whole. The burgeoning population has its effect in encroachment of the agriculturally potential areas near the cities for settlements and also to bring the marginal areas under plough through process of deforestation. This not only affects the area under plough but also degrades the marginal lands thus affecting the ecosystem. Under these conditions, the knowledge of the soils. their extent distribution, characteristics and their use potentials gain prominence in optimising land u eon su tainablt; basis. Additionally the setting of National Land Resource CODllrussion at the Centre and I and Use Boards at 1he States signify the importance of 'oil re ouree maps at state and national level for developing the land use maps. I am pleased to see that ational Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning is engaged in preparing the soil resource maps of different tates 011 1:250.000 scale and printing on 1:500,000 scale and of the country at 1:1 m scale. Soil maps of few states have already been released and distributed to the state agencies and others are in pipeline. The present publication "Soils of Lakshadweepff is one of the series of publications being brought out by the ationa! Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning (NBSS&LUP) in cooperation with Lakshadweep Administration, Department of Agriculture. This publication comprises the resource map and a soi Is bulletin indicating the kinds of soils, their problems, extent and distribution and potentia] land for optimising land u -'e. This publication forms a basis for developmental work in t.he field of agriculture, forestry. soil consen'ation to optimise land use on sustainable basis. I, congratulate the team of devoted scientists and staff under the leadership of Director, NBSS&LUP and staff of Department of J\gricuiture, Laksbadweep Administration, to bring ou1 this publication for the benefit of our ociety. ~ ~ .1 (G .. Sing~ Dy. Director General (Solls) leAR, New Delhi PREFACE India is an agriculture based country where about 75 percent of its population is IOvolved In fanning Since agriculture forms the backbone of the country's economy. the soils on which the crops grow, gain a vital importance, Soils are the prime finite natural resources who~e proper management helps to the socia-economic development of the country, India as such is facing great problems of increasing population that demands more and more food from a unit area With the increasing demand for food, fodder and fibre, there is over use or faulty planlllng of land use that results in soil health hazards such as soil degradation thereby declining the soil quality During the green revolution in 1970's with the introduction of high yielding varieties, with the increase in irrigation facilities. associated with high usage of fertilizers and pesticides, the productIOn showed an increasing trend This increase is always associated \~itlr tire pollution and environmental degradation At present, majority of the land resources are degraded and needs an immediate attention and care before they loose their resilienc(' Thus. developing the strategies to slow down the degradation processes or anleliorate the soils to bring back normalcy are the major issues today, In order to estimate the extent of problem and potential areas for agriculture, a systematic resource inventory on I 250.000 scale was planned and undertaken with the cooperation of State Department of Agriculture and State Agricultural Universities The maps provide information on the kinds, extent and the distribution of different soils, (heir nature, characteristics, problems and potentials so as to de~elop strategies not only to increase agricultural production on sustainable basis but also to maintain the ecological balance such that the future generation may not ask the question "here is the land, but where is the soil" The soil resource maps of different states along with their te"1 are bemg brought out In the form of "Soils of India Series" For the Union Territory of Lakshadweep, detailed soil survey was carried out using cadastral maps. The islands are the main coral reserves of the country and supports a fragile ecosystem prone to degradation if used without taking into consideration, the potentials and limitations of the soils Ten soil series were identified and their phases depicting surface texture, slope and erosion were delineated on soil maps Thematic maps on depth, drainage, slope, erosion, surface texture, particle size classes and potential land use were generated using GIS The Soils were classified as per Soil Taxonomy, for understanding the taxa internationally Soil maps on scale 0f 1.8000 and thematic maps on scale J 16.000 were generated and handed over to the user agency The text in Bulletin contains a note on "How to Use The Soils Bulletin" . The report contains I: 16,0001 1 32.000 scale soil and thematic maps for nine islands and 1:2000/1 :4000 scale soil and thematic maps for the smallest island of Bitra. The Bulletin, will be of immense use for different laml users including farmers, extension workers, administrators and planners for rationalising land use It will also help research workers in undertaking research on established soils and in transferring agro-technology to similar soils in the region The Soils Bulletin will go a long way to ensure increased agricultural production on sustainable basis, ~. Vd<--'1~ 11:::'c.w­ M,Velayutham Director. NBSS & LUP Nagpur RESEARCH PROJECT TEAM Project Leader P.Krishnan Project Associate L.G.K,Naidu Regional Coordinators NBSS&LUP Department 01 Agriculture Bangalore Lakshadweep Administration P.S.A.Reddy V.M.Shamsuddin V.A.K.Sarma N.G.Raghu Mohan Chief Coordinator J,Sehgal CONTRIBUTORS NBSS A LUP Dept. of Agrlcultur. 1JaJgaIOte. LakshadwHp Admlnlstrot/on Field investigation and Field investigation Compilation B.T.Shivalah K.P.Kunhikoya K.Sundara K.v.Sayed Mohammed Koya C.P.Koya Map and Report layout T.Homees O.G.Hassan M.Ramesh AC.Hameed M.Suharabi Cartography Prabhakara K.S.Satyanarayana K.Sujatha Laboratory Analysis R.A.Nasre ArtlKoyal S.G.Anantwar K.M.Gopalakrlshna Map Generation K.M.Nair S.Srinivas P.Chandramathl ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The project of Soil Resource Dr. T. Bhattacharyya, Scientist Mapping of Lakshadweep was achieved (SS) and In-charge, Technical Cell for utilising the help from scientists, valuable suggestions. Dr. P. Chandran administrators and technicians. The help Scientist, Mr. Shekhar Nimkhedkar of the following is grateful! y Technical Officer for their help and Mr. acknowledged. L.S. Bahilani for his Technical Assistance. Sri. S.P. Agarwal, lAS, former Administrator and Sm!. Nalini Sm!. V.S. Sharda and Sm!. P. Jayaseelam, lAS, fonner Collector-cum­ Prabhavathamma for secretarial help. Development Commissioner, for the interest they have shown in initiating the Sri. S.K. Dohtare, former AAO projec!. and Sri. A. Muthuraman, AAO, Sri . G. Jagadeeshaiah, Sm!. Y.L. Sri. G.S. Chima, lAS, Sathyalakshamma, Smt. R. Gayatri Devi, Administrator and Sri. Vijayan, lAS Sri. J. Sampath and KUffi. P. Collector-cum-Development Chandrakala for administrative support Commissioner, for the support they have at Regional Centre, NBSS & LUP, extended in getting the work completed. Bangalore. Dr. S. Vadivelu, Senior Scientist, Dr. S.B. Dandin and his for his critical review and suggestions associates at KSSDI, Talgatpura, for improving the quality of this report. Bangalore for help in analysis of available nutrients. CONTENTS Page 1, INTRODUCTION 2, GEOGRAPHICAL SmlNG 3 2,1 Location and extent 3 2,2 Historical background 6 2,3 Geology 6 2,4 Physiography 6 2,5 Drainage 7 2,6 Climate 7 2,7 Natural Vegetation 9 2,8 Land utillisation and c ropping pattern 9 2,9 Agricultural services 10 2,10 Socio-economic condition 10 3, METHODOLOGY 11 3,1 Field investigations 11 3,2 Laboratory investigations 11 3,3 Preparation of soil map 11 3,4 Preparation of thematic maps 11 4, SOILS 13 5, LAND EVALUATION 19 5,1 Land capability 19 5,2 Land irrigability 19 5,3 Problem and potential soils 19 5,3, 1 Soil depth 20 5,3,2 Surface soil texture 20 5,3,3 Slope 20 5,3,4 Soil erosion 20 5,3,5 Drainage 20 5,3,6 Particle-size classes 20 5,3,7 Land use 20 5,3,8 Suggested landuse 21 5,4 Nutrient and pest management 23 5,5 Water management 23 5,6 Sea erosion control 24 5,7 Industry 25 5,8 Tourism 25 6, SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 27 References 29 Appendix I Series descriptions, Physical and chemical properties 33 Appendix II Available nutrients 62 Appendix III Analysis of water samples 64 Plates Soil and Thematic maps of Islands ( 35 Plates) LIST OF FIGURES Page 1 Location Map - Union Territory of Lakshadweep 4 :1 An Island with lagoon and coral reef - Chetlat 5 3 Climatic diagrams 8 LIST OF TABLES Location and Extent 3 2 Climatic data - Lakshadweep 7 3 Suggested Land Use 22 Chap.