Orissa Review * January - 2009 Soils of Jharsuguda District Dr. Antaryami Mishra Dr. S. K.Nanda Jharsuguda district is situated in the north western Hirakud Catchment (Mishra 1972, 1988). The part of Orissa state. It is surrounded by blocks included in this division are Kolabira, Sundargarh district in the north, Sambalpur in the Kirmira, Jharsuguda and Lakhanpur. Many of the east, Bargarh in the south and Chhatisgarh state streams of this division directly drain into Hirakud in the west. Extending over an area of 220,000 reservoir. Lakhanpur block which forms the ha, it occupies 1.41 % of the states area. It northern boundary of Hirakud reservoir has a receives 1652 mm of average annual rainfall.The number of such streams running in north-south district has only one sub-division (Jharsuguda) direction. and 5 blocks (Jharsuguda, Lakhanpur, Kolabira, 2. Eastern Kuchinda Plain Laikera and Kirmira). It is one of the most important industrial district of the state with wealth Located on the north of the high hill ranges of natural resources (mines and water). The most of Deogarh district and well-drained by the river important rivers flowing through this district are Bheden and her tributaries (Mishra et al., 1984), Mahanadi and Ib, the water of which have been this is a flat terrain, almost plain with high level most helpful in setting a number of industries in lands those are quite extensive. This this district. The Mahanadi reservoir formed by physiographic division comprises of the whole Hirakud Dam is adjacent to the block of of Laikera block of Jharsuguda district and major Lakhanpur and Jharsuguda. The district can be parts of Kuchinda and Bamra blocks of adjacent marked into two natural physiographic divisions Sambalpur district. The proportion of flat upland as follows. in this division in rather very high. In Laikera block 1. Northern Jharusuguda Plateau it is as much as 75 per cent of the total cultivated area which is the highest among all the blocks of The entire Jharsuguda district except the district. Laikera block comes under this physiographic division.The average height of this division ranges Soils between 500 feet to 750 feet above the mean Climate of the district is characterized by sea level.This division has no high hills but the dry hot summer, monsoon rains and cold winter. terrain mostly comprising of high lands is quite May is the hottest month and December the undulating draining into the river Ib which is the coldest. The mean summer temperature is 38o most important tributary of river Mahanadi in the and mean winter temperature is 15oC. August is 52 Orissa Review * January - 2009 the rainest month (Mishra and Mohapatra, 1996). 1. Laterite and lateritic soils The most important forest species of the district In both the eastern Kuchinda plain and are Sal, Asan, Kusum, Kendu etc. Most of the northern Jharsuguda plateau lateritic soils occurs district is based on Archaen rocks , such as extensively. This is chiefly attributed to the gneisses, granites, mica schists and quartzites comparatively flat uplands favouring greater (Sarkar et al., 1998). Laterites belong to the illuviation of iron and manganese and excessive tertiary system which are also observed in many leaching of bases. This is reflected in high soil parts of the district (Mishra, 1988). acidity in all the five blocks of Jharsuguda district The agricultural lands of the district can be (77 % in Jharsuguda; 72 % in Lakhanpur; 78 % marked to have five prominent land forms such in Kirmira; 76 % in Kolabira and 72 % in Laikera as hill, ridges, valley, level and stream terrace, block).Around the periphery of Hirakud reservoir which can be further divided into different land low level ground laterites are observed which types, and sub-land types with distinct could be attributed to comparatively higher water physiographic units (Mishra, 1985). However, table. broadly these could be classified as high land, 2. Alluvial soils medium land and lowland. Alluvial soils are observed in limited areas The topography is mostly undulating of the district mostly occurring in levees of river comprising of ridges and valleys. At the ridge Mahanadi and Ib. Besides localized ones along crest are the upland and at the upper slopes the the stream terraces have stratified alluvial material bunded and unbunded lands are locally called as deposited along the stream banks. Att and Mal respectively which together Soil scape characteristics of Jharsuguda constitute the high land. The valley bottom lands district which constitute the low lands are called Bahal The soils on different land forms vary widely and the lower valley side lands constituting the in their characteristics as described below medium lands are called as Berna (Mishra, 1985). (Sarkar et al., 1998). All the five factors of soil formation (climate, Soils of hill slope : vegetation, parent material , time and topography) have considerably influenced genesis of soils The soils occurring on moderately sloping though influence of topography (indicating hills are dominantly shallow to moderately shallow, different landtypes) has been the highest. somewhat excessively drained, loamy-skeletal to Consequently great variation in soils in different loamy-fine texture. They are moderately to parts of the district is observed. These belong to severely eroded and have moderate stoniness; the four orders according to the recent system of have low to medium AWC. These soils have been Soil Taxonomy such as Alfisols, Entisols, classified as Lithic Ustorthents. Inceptisols and Vertisols (Mishra and Mohapatra, Soils of gently sloping lands 1996, Sahu and Mishra, 2005; Mishra, 2007). These are deep to very deep, well drained However, as per the earlier system of fine loamy textured with moderate erosion and classification these can be marked into the have medium AWC. They are classified as Ultic following two great groups. Haplustalfs. 53 Orissa Review * January - 2009 Soils of very gently sloping uplands 3. Mishra, D.P. (1972).Agroclimatic zones and soils of Orissa. Directorate of Soil Conservation, Govt. These land types are dominantly occupied of Orissa. by deep to very deep and well drained soils with 4. Mishra, D.P. (1985). Soil and Land irrigability loamy texture and medium AWC. They are slightly classification. Directorate of Soil Conservation, eroded and have been classified as Rhodic Government of Orissa. Paleustalfs. 5. Mishra, D.P. (1988). Crop Zones of Sambalpur Soils of very gently sloping valleys: District, Orissa. Directorate of Agriculture, Govt. of Orissa. Soils occurring on very gently sloping 6. Mishra, D.P.;Das, B., Naik, L.M. and Pradhan, valleys are moderately deep to deep, well M. (1984). Priority management of Miniwatershed drained , fine-loamy textured with moderate in Kuchinda block, Sambalpur District. Tech. Bull. erosion. They are classified as Typic Ustochrepts. Directorate of Soil Conservation, Orissa. Fertility status of different blocks of 7. Sahu, G.C.and Mishra, Antaryami (2005). Soils Jharsuguda district of Orissa and their management . Orissa Review . LXII (4): 56-60. Seventy five per cent soils of the district 8. Sarkar, D.; Thampi, C.J.; Sehgal, J. and are acidic. The available nitrogen (organic carbon) Velayutham, M. (1998). Soils of Orissa for status of Lakhanpur block is high where as in the optimum land use. NBSS and LUP (ICAR), other four blocks viz., Jharsuguda, Kolabira, Nagpur. Laikera and Kirmira it is medium. The available phosphorus and potassium status of all the five blocks is medium. References 1. Mishra, Antaryami (2007). A review on genesis and taxonomic classification of soils of Orissa.Orissa Review, LXIII(6): 53-56. 2. Mishra Antaryami and Mohapatra, B.P. (1996). Dr. Antaryami Mishra and Dr. S. K. Nanda are Associate Soils of Sambalpur district. Orissa Review LIII(5): Professors in the Department of Soil Science and Agril. 18-19. Chemistry, OUAT, Bhubaneswar. 54.