The soil type of Maharashtra is predominantly black clayey soils on the plains punctuated with occasional stretches of shallow soils on the ridges.
Northern Region is carpeted by shallow, poor quality soil type. Southern Maharashtra, especially Godavari Valley boasts deep and fertile soil shroud. This particular genre of soil has originated from Deccan Trap. The soil in the Deccan plateau is made up of black basalt soil which is rich in humus. The soil status of Maharashtra is residual, derived from the underlying basalts.
Further the soil is lighter in the west than in the east. The districts of Thane, Raigarh and some parts of Sangli, Ahmednagar, Solapur, Dhule, parts of Pune and Sahara districts are peppered with saline soil.
Thus the soil structure of Maharashtra is related to the climate and the geology of the place and can be broadly classified as the following:
• Soils of Konkan coast
• Soils of Western Ghats
• Soils of Upper Maharashtra
• Soils of Lower Maharashtra
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About 96.4 per cent of the states geographic area is subjected to various degrees of erosion. The soil profile reveals that the incidence of severe erosion is the highest in the Western Ghats 53.1 percent), followed by lower Maharashtra (11.5 percent).
Soils of South Konkan coast is Laterite, with PH 5.5-6.5 acidic,and is poor in phosphorous rich in nitrogen and Potasscium. While the Soils of North Konkan coast is Coarse &shallow. PH5.5to 6.5, acidic Rich in nitrogen, poor in phosphorus & potash.
Soils of Western Ghats region is locally known as ‘Warkas’ i.e. light laterite & reddish brown. Distinctly acidic, poor fertility low phosphorous & potash content.
The Wardha – Waliganga river valley has old crystalline rocks and saline soils which make the soil infertile. This type of soil has a natural resistance to wind and water erosion because it is rich in iron and granular in structure. A
very important advantage of this type of soil is that it can retain moisture. This makes the soil very reactive to irrigation.
The soil status of Maharashtra is residual, derived from the underlying basalts. In the semidry plateau, the regur (black-cotton soil) is clayey, rich in iron and moisture-retentive, though poor in nitrogen and organic matter. When re-deposited along the river valleys, the kali soils are deeper and heavier, better suited for Rabi crops.
Farther away, with a better mixture of lime, the morand soils form the ideal Kharif zone. The higher plateau areas have pather soils, which contain more gravel. In the rainy Konkan, and the Sahyadri Range, the same basalts give rise to the brick-red laterites, which are productive under a forest-cover, but readily stripped into a sterile varkas when devoid of vegetative cover. By and large, the soils of Maharashtra are shallow and of somewhat poor quality.