MINERALOGY AND GEOCHEMISTRY OF 'REH' SOIL IN SOME PARTS OF U.P. By MOHD. AJMAL ANSARI M. Sc., P. G. Dip. Hydrogeol, M. Phil. (Alig.) THESIS SUBMITTED FOR THE DECREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN GEOLOGY AT THE ALIGARH MUSLIM UNIVERSITY, ALIGARH (INDIA) 198 7 KV L^'V T3480 ABSTRACT As a part of the arid and. semi-arid landscape, saline and alkali lands have been known to occur in India from time immemorial, more prominently in the Indus and Gangetic plains in the north. The vernacular names 'Reh', 'Usar' or 'Kallar' have been in use for the saline efflorescence forming a crust on the surface of the soils during the dry periods. The effloresconce essentially consists of a mixture of sodium carbonate, bicar- bonate, chloride and sulphate, together with varying proportion; of calcium and magnesium salts. In the Indo-Gangetic Plain, the state of Uttar Pradesh (u.P.) is particularly affected by these deposits, most of which occur along certain belts which generally run along NW-SE. The salinity and alkalinity in the soils hamper crop production which affect the country's economy. It has been estimated that approximately 8 million hectares of land (actual extent may be much larger) has been afflicted by this malady. The irrportance of Indo-Gangetic alluvial plains to agriculture is immense. Therefore, the rate at which the soils are degrading (becoming saline and alkaline) is alarming and requires urgent measure to control and rectify this. Aligarh lies on one of the worst affected 'Usar' belts of U.P., therefore, this part of the belt was selected for detailed investigations^mainly, the mineralogical and geochemical aspects. Attempt has also been made to study the interaction between reh development and flora and fauna. The area under study lies in the Ganga-Yamuna doab (inter- riverine). The soils in the area are mostly loam, sandy loam, silt to clayey in nature. The latter increasing with depth. In the area around Aligarh, not less than 36,000 hectares of land, about 7 per cent oE the total geographic area, is saline and another 7,000 hectares are on the brink of salinity and alkalinity. The soils exhibit textural immaturity and occupy topo- graphic troughs. Among the minerals present in these soils, quartz is the most dominant and ubiquitous. It is followed by muscovite and feldspars. The heavy mineral assemblage comprise tourmaline, zircon, garnet, biotite, hornblende, chlorite, kyanite, staurolite, epidote and rutile indicating a Himalayan provenance of high grade metamorphic and some igneous and sedimentary rocks The relative scarcity of micas and feldspars indicate alteration to clay minerals. The soils of Aligarh do contain clay minerals, like, illite, chlorite, vermiculite, kaolinite. Calcite is a common constituent of the 'reh'. In all the soil profiles studied, illite was found as a dominant clay mineral followed by chlorite, vermiculite and kaolinite. The bulk chemical analyses of reh soils gave the range (per cent) for Si02 as 40.38 to 62.65, AI2O3 13.50 to 26.56, Fe203 1.67 to 5.40, Ti02 0.19 to 0.89, CaO 1.40 to 28.6, MgQ 0.40 to 13.10, MnO 0.03 to 0.22, K2O 1.10 to 12.20, Na20 0.20 to 5.80 and P20^ 0.16 to 0.32. Among the trace metals, the concentration of almost all the metals analysed, were found to be above safe limits as suggested by FWPCF (1968) and Ayers and Branson (1976). The range of the trace metals are given as follows alongwith their safe limits in parentheses Ni 5-18 ppm (2 ppm) Cu 4-22 ppm (5 ppm) Zn 27-76 ppm (10 ppm) Pb 11-62 ppm (10 ppm) Cr 4-21 ppm (1-20 ppm) Cd is ppm, well within the safe limit. It has also been observed that metal concentration in soils is also on the rise. This indicates that there are pollutional sources of contamination of metals. At Aligarh the large number of industrys engaged in manufacturing locks, paints and pigments, and electroplating and also nearby Qasimpur Thermal Power Station, various hospitals, etc., discharge large amount of wastes which are taken up by soils, ground water and the rivers Ganga and Yamuna which carry them downstreams. The Yamuna and the Ganga are highly polluted rivers in India which bring in large amount of pollutants from various big industrial cities upstreams and are the major source of soil pollution. The soils at Tappal can be classified as highly saline- alkaline on the basis of pH, clay content, CEC, SAR, ESP and high HCO"^ and CO^ • The soils at Jawan, Panjipur and Sikandra Rao are alkaline or sodic instead of saline-alkaline, as suggested by others. The soils at Atrauii and Panhethi too are alkaline. The soils at Aligarh are, in general,, sandy to silty and clayey. The trough, topography, semi-arid condition, imperfect drainage, closeness of water table to surface and return irrigation water causes water-logging which results in the widespread efllorescence of salt, specially during the summer months. The underlying carbonate layer, on compaction, acts as a physical chemical barrier to percolating water causing stagnation and accumulation of Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Zn, Pb, etc. The plastered look and swelling and shrinking properties in these soils are due to the presence of illite, vermiculite and micas. The salt deposition is correlated to capillary action during dehydration, as observed by the deposition of salt crystals along the cracks. The poor availability of plant nutrients is on account of non-Survival of nitrogen-fixing bacteria under high pH, high sodium percentage and salt content. Thus a combination of geological, climatic and hydrological factors are responsible in the 'reh' development at Aligarh. Secondary salinization due to uncontrolled economic activity, rise in water-table and over-grazing is another cause of soil degradation. It is suggested that green manuring with rotational crop technique be adopted in order to raise the fertility status of the soil. Canal irrigation should be minimised, instead tube-well irrigation should be adopted in order to depress the rising water table. Plantation of Eucalyptus, Cynoddn, Dhanicha, etc., should be encouraged followed by chemical reclamative measures. Felling o£ forests in the Himalayan mountains where these rivers originate , should be immediately stopped so as to check erosion and supply of hazardous soluble salts, which are additional source of salinity and alkalinity in the Gangr basin. With the opening of a number of headworks and canals in quick succession recently, a vast area of new land became water-logged causing widespread salinity in the canal command areas. There is need to make an intelligent use of water as indiscriminate introduction of canal irrigation may cause excessive seepage, rise in water-table, widespread water- logging and increase in salinity. The success depends on how we . take up that challenge and save our national heritage, the soil, from deterioration. DEPARTMENT OF GEOLOGY ALIQARH MUSLIM UNIVERSITY. ALIGARH-202 00 1 India. Ucman ^A am Reader Dated This is to certify that the thesis entitled, MINERALOGY AND GEOCHEMISTRY OF 'REH' SOIL IN SOME PARTS OF U.P.", submitted for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN GEOLOGY is a faithful record of the bonafide research work carried out at the ALIGARH MUSLIM UNIVERSITY, ALIGARH, by MR. MOHD. AJMAL ANSARI under my guidance and supervision and that no part of it has been submitted for any other degree or diploma. Id JULOJUA' ( NOMAN GHANI ) READER ****** 3«r ** DEDICATED TO MY parents ********** * * * ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I take this opportunity to express my sincere thanks to my super-visor, Mr. Noman Ghani, Reader in Geology, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, for his guidance and continued encouragement and interest during my research work. I am grateful to Prof. V.K. Srivastava, Chairman, Department of Geology, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, for providing me research facilities. A large number of people and organizations have helped me in one way or another in the preparation of this manuscript. I shall be ingrateful if I do not acknowledge their contribution. I especially owe thanks to the following officers of the O.N.G.C., Dehradun, for providing me with facilities to work on SEM and XRD : Messers P.G. Kale, Dy. Supdt. Geologist; Nusrat A. Abbasi, Dy. Supdt. Geologist; A.K. Sinha, Geologist; and S. Bihari, Geologist. I am also thankful to Prof. V.C. Thakur, Drs. Talat Ahmad, Ismail Bhatt, and M.S. Rathi of Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehradun, for providing me laboratory facilities. Thanks are also due to Prof. M.L. Manchanda, of the Soil Science Division of Indian Institute of Remote Sensing, NRSA, Government of India, Dehradun for help in the interpreta- tion of Landsat imagery. I am than-cful to various friends and colleagues, particularly. Dr. Aijaz A. Ansari, Messers Rehanuddin, M. Tahir, Riyasat Husain, Aquil Raza Siddiqui, Mukhtar Ahmad and Md. xMujtatd Khan for their continued encouragement and help in connection with the preparation of the manuscript, and'to Mr. Zakir Husain, Incharge, Geology Seminar, Alig^r-., for help in various ways. A special mention must be made of my respected parents for their blessing, and of my uncles, and rry brotners - Jamal, Adil and Kashif - and sisters - Qudsia and Shabnam - for the much needed moral support, at every stage. My wife, Mahjabeen has been a constant source of solace and encouragement. But for her forbearance this work would not have been possible. Mr. S.M. Hasan deserves a special mention for typing this manuscript. In the end, I should like to acknowledge that the award of a Research Fellowship by the University Grants Commission, New Delhi, has been of great assistance to me during the period of my research.