Soils Bulletin 12 The Soils of Hassan District (Karnataka) for Land Use Planning Regional Centre BAN GALORE National Bureau of Soil Survey • Land Use Planning flNOMN COUCll Of~ IDIAICH) , rMOPUR-4*»cno The Soils of Hassan District (Karnataka) for Land Use Planning N !) :~ S & I U P ~!")' .'\ 11 , ..... s"" • - ~ I ,I.... "'"'Y R.. \,. :_*' .) 11 • w I ~ ~ '" _ l" . .... I li"':il:p;~\r~ 5:'1\': i'_:4 CONTRIBUTORS Principal investigator C.S. Harindranath field survey, mapping K.R. Venu60pal l(\t~n)reta tio !\ and laboratory R. Swamynatha analysis K. Sundara Cartography Champa Ray Chowdhury Prabhakara T. Nagaraj8 Rao K.B. Maske R.C. Sutkar Cover design L.S. Bahilani Soil survey interpretation and J.L. Sehgal Technical edi tlng L.R. Hirekerur V.A.K. SArmR january 1987 The Soils of Hassan District (Karnataka) for Land Use Planning National Bureau of Soil Survey & Land Use Planning (INDIAN COUNCIL Of AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH ) NAGPU R - 440 010 1987 ------------------------Printed at the Printing Section. ----------.-----C8rtogrilphy DivIsIon N. e. S. S. & L. U. P .• tA.R." Campus, New Dolhi-110012 FOREWORD Soils differ gr3atlf in t;l~ir edaphic, morphological, physico-chemical and mineralogical properties because of assorted combination of soil form­ ing factors and processes whIch act on the parent rock to form them. Soil Scientists study soils to identify units that can be grouped according to their morphology and properties into classification units that can be tielineated on maps. Different kind of soils can be interpreted for (l variety of technical uses, including technology transfer. Since it is practically difficult to make detailed investigations and conduct fertility experiments on several soils, It becomes imperative co make predictions, based on soil survey and correlation data. The present bulletin on the soils of ~-lassDn district (Karnataka) is an endeavour of the Staff of National Aureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning in this direction wherein efforts have been made to map soil resources of the di!'>trict, highHght the prob\E::ms and potentials for developing better land use plans. The bulletin covers various aspecls of the soils of the districts, including a separate chapter on Soil Survey Interpretation and suitability of soils for major crops grown in the area. The results obtained may prove Ilseful in transferring soil-basf'd agro-technoJogy to other areas having similar soil-site characteristics. It is hoped that this bulletin will be exploited by agronomists, plllnners, exten5ion workers of different departments for making rational land use rccom mendations. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The Soil Survey of I-Jassan district is a collective effort of many persons in the 13ureau. However, the following deserve a special mention for their help and guidance In realising the project. • Sri Naga Rhushana, S. R. and Shri Barde, N.K. the ~egional Heads at the time of the proJect" and field review. • Sri Sitaram Singh for calculation of area. • Smt. Pillai, T.L. and Sri. '<harche, c.k. for their efficient typing work. • Staff members of the Regional Centre, Bangalore and Headquarters, Nsgpur 10 cartography and laboratory in various stage of the proJect. • Sri Abraham, P. K. for map reduction and printing section headed by Sri S. Pandey for printing. CONTENTS Foreword Acknowledgement 1. Introduction 1 2. Geographical Setting 2 3. Soil Survey Techniques 11 4. The Soils 14 5. Soil Survey Interpretations for 19 Land Use Planning 5.1 Land capability classificatiol. 5.2 Irrigability c lassification 5.3 Productive soils 5.4 Problem soils 5.5 Suggested land use 5.6 Soil suitability for Ragi 5.7 Soil suitability for eucalyptus 6. Conclusion 35 INTRODUCTION Soil Is the basic resource for meeting the needs 01' all life. Since no two soils are similar in their Inherent characteristics and behaviour, a proper understanding of their properties IS Imperative for developing optimum land use pian. Soil surveys and maps provide information of the soil resource of an area. Interpretation of Soil data lead to predictiOns. In view of this, a semi-detailed reconnaissance soil survey of the District Hassan (Karnataka) was undertaken with the following objectives : o to prepare a soil resource map of the district, delineating soil series and/or soil series associations with phases within each soil series aSSOCiation, o to characterise the soIls and highlight their problems and potentials, o to correlate and classi fy the soils according to Soil Taxonomy, and o to prepare interpretative maps based on soil-site characteristics and their limitations for developing optimum land use plans. GEOGRAPHICAL SETTING The total geogrtiphicClI area of the district is 6.78 lakh hectares. It is, situated between 12°31' and 13°33' North latitude and 75°33' and 76038' East longItude and lies in the south western part of the state of Karnataka. It is bounded on the north by Chikmagalur <listrict, on the east by Tumkur and Mandya districts, on the south by Mysore and Kodagu districts and on the west by South Kanara district. The Hassan district comprises eight talukas (Fig. I). The major rock formations in the area are granites, gneisses, schists and quartzites (Fig.2). The Ilassan district is a part of the ~<arnataka plateau. Most of the plateau is peneplain in various stages of denudation. It has gently to rolling surface with occasional monadnocks. In the geological past, the raising of thp. Western Ghats resul ted in the tilting of the plateau and brought about a change in c limate from humid to semi-arid. There are two distinct erosion81 surfaces : (1) the high hilly region popularly called 'Malnad' and (2) the plain region, popularly known as 'Maidan~ The district m<1Y be diVIded into the following physiographic lon~s : (map-I) (1) HIlly region covered with forest (southern 'malnad') (2) Hillocks on thp. plain region (3) Undulating to rolling lands (semi-'malnad' and high lands 'maidan') (4) Gently sloping pediments (southern 'maidan') (~) Valleys (river valleys and tank command areas) - -TFig.t ~\ r­ 'd, ~I }~'''';''..... i-" MYSORE .J DISTRICT KmJO !) 0 10 20Km ....,_ - j _j Fig.1. LOCATION OF HASSAN DISTRICT 76 O' Fl,.2 ~ Gronite ~ Dharwars 1··-1 Peninsular piss I o ( ,AlKALGlO " ..... I '" .... • f •• KODAGU t,, ~,... ~. ,"" \ DISTRICT I. ~ J,v ~ ", MYSORE I 'iL DISTRICT KmIO !I 0 10 20Km 76· O' Fig.2 . GEOLOGY OF HASSAN DISTRICT The Sakaleshpur tal uk of the district rests on the brow of the Western Ghats and comprises some of the most beautiful scenery in Karnataka State. The elevation ranges from 1000 to 1715 metres above tl1e mean sea level. Apart from these hill peaks, there are low ranges 01 granite hills found in all the other taluks. The area is drained by three important rivers viz. the Cauvery, Hemavathi "and Yagachi. Most of the district lies within the I :emavati basin. In the hilly region ('malnad'), there are number of small check dams and pickups constructed across the rivers during the 19th Century which till to date are being used for irrigation. In the unduluting plain ('maidan') tank irrigation is common. Of the total net sown area, about 16 per cent is irrigated by different sources; the details are: Total net sown area 3.5 lakh ha. Total area irrigated 0.56 lakh ha. (16%) Area irrigated by canals 10749 ha. Area irrigated by tanks 34083 ha. Area irrigated by wells 1717 ha. Area Irrigated by other sources 9797 ha. The district has equitable climate. The average annual rainfall is 1041 mm. The western part of the district receives heavy rainfall which decreases signi ficantly in the eastern part. A. major portion of the rain is received during the southwest monsoon period (I\1ay to Augus t). Rains are also received during October to November. The fainfall exceeds potential evapotranspiration for about 120 days in a year (Table 1). The soi.! moisture control section is likely to remain moist for about 140 days in a year (ustic moisture regime) which permits growing of one kharif crop under rainfed conditions. The mean annual air temperature is 23.3°C. April is generally the hottest month and December the coldest. The difference between the mean summer and mean winter temperature is less than Soc. The soil temperature regime is iso-hyperthermic (Fig.3). Table 1. CLIMATOLOGICAL DATA OF HASSAN T)IST~ICTt KARNATAKA Station Hassan: 13000'N 760 09'E Height 960 m above MSL /8ased on observations from 1931-}960) Average jan Feb Mar Apr May jun jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Annual Average Mean Monthly 21.4 23.2 25.6 26.7 25.9 23.1 21.9 22.2 22.6 23.1 22.0 20.9 23.3 Temperature (oC) Potential 111 119 157 149 146 III 110 104 106 105 98 100 1406 Evapotrans- piration (mm) Normal Monthly 5.0 5.4 9.1 52.7 111.3 124.9 245.5 140.7 101.6 153.9 73.7 16.9 1040.7 Rainfall (mm) Average 0.4 0.4 0.7 3.6 7.1 13.9 13.8 10.6 7.7 8.9 4.6 1.1 67.8 Number of Rainy Days (Source) PET Report of National Commission of Agriculture Part IV (J976) Temp. & Gazetteer of India, Hassan district 1971 Rainfall The flora of the area is rich and varies from scrub forest (Acacia and Lanterna spp:) in the eastern sector to evergreen forests (Terminalia spp.) in the western sector. The economy of the district is primarily dependent on agriculture which is the chief occupation of the people. f)f the total geographical area, ~bout 50 pcr cent IS under cultivation. F:fforts are being made to increase the irrigation potential of the area and bring more area under cultivation (Table 2) (Fig.4).