Name of the Soil

 Area covered

Characterstics

Flood Plain or Bet Soils

Area along with the west bank of Satluj from Ropar to Fazilka town in the south- west and in Zira and Moga Tehsils.

• Periodically flooded or old flood plain areas of various rivers, streams or choes of the state.
• They are found in the form of elongated belts on the both side of the river channel such as those of Satluj, Ravi, Beas and Ghagghar.
• They are pale to yellowish brown in colour. The soils are well drained and very deep and they vary in texture and these have generally a low and irregular organic matter.
• Depending upon the source of alluvium, the soils are calcareous or non-calcareous. There is a wide belt of more mature bet soils of old flood plain extending along the west bank of river Satluj from Ropar town to Fazilka town in the south west.
• These soils are suitable for the cultivation of paddy, wheat, sugarcane and vegetables.

Loamy Soils

Nawanshahr district, in Nakodar Tehsil of Jalandhar district, Phagwara Tehsil and Central parts of Kapurthala district, Patiala, Nabha, Sangrur, Moga, Bathinda and Muktsar districts.

• It is the most important, fertile and productive soil group of the state.
• These soils cover nearly 25% area of the state.
• The soils become clayey towards northwest in Amritsar and Gurdaspur districts.
• These are deep and fine grained soils, which have developed under sub- moist and cool to warm temperate climate.
• The pH value decreasing nears the surface from 8.0 to 7.8 in the B-horizon.
• Due to flooding by choes or rivulets and excessive irrigation the soils become partly salt affected or Sodic in western Amritsar district, south- western Batala Tehsil of Gurdaspur district.
• These soils are intensively cultivated for wheat and paddy crops. 

Sandy Soils

Bathinda, Mansa, Sangrur, Patiala, Southern parts of Ferozpur and Muktsar districts and some patches of Ludhiana district.

• These are arid soils of south-western and south central Punjab
• These soils have developed under semi arid & warm to hot climatic conditions with rainfall ranging from 30cm to 50cm.
• The soils are yellowish to grey colour, the overall grey colure reflects the deficiency of organic matter and also is poor in nitrogen, phosphorus and potash.
• The pH value ranges from 7.8 to 8.5. The soils are sandy loam to silt in mixture.
• They have low to medium fertility but by artificial irrigation they become much more productive and are capable of producing cotton, citrus, oilseeds, wheat and fodder crops.

Desert Soils

Abohar and Zira tehsils of Ferozpur district, Muktsar, Bathinda, Mansa and in some parts of Sangrur and Ludhiana districts

• These soils cover more than 11% of the total area of the state.
• These soils have developed under arid and hot climate and thin cover or bush vegetation.
• The average rainfall is upto 30 cm.
• This soil is dry and deficient in humus. It is poor in nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.
• The reaction is from normal to alkaline and pH value ranges from 7.5 to 8.5.
• The fertility with respect to plant nutrient is LMM (low to medium).
• In the south -western aridic zone wind action has played a major role in the formation of these soils. These are sand dune studded. The soils are covered by windblown sand.
• The soils are light in colour from yellow to light brown.
• These soils are suitable for the cultivation of cotton, moth, citrus, wheat, bajra and other Kharif fodder.
• The soils suffer from wind erosion especially in the summers

Kandi Soils

Pathankot, Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur, Nawanshahr and Ropar Districts

• These soils have a sandy, sandy loam, silt loam and clay- silt to gravelly texture.
• The texture becomes coarser and rougher eastward the Shivaliks hills where gravel, pebbles and conglomerates predominates.
• These have been deposited by numerous choes coming from Shivaliks hills.
• The soils are badly eroded and less productive and are suitable from dry farming. 

Sierozems

Tarn Taran and Patti tehsils, Mukerian and Tanda tehsils of Hoshiarpur District, Nakodar and Phillaur tehsils of Jalandhar district, Fatehgarh sahib district, Rajpura and Patiala tehsils of Patiala District

• These soils cover nearly 25% area of the state. Sierozems are grey soils of semi arid parts of Punjab with an average annual rainfall from 50cm to 70cm, the general air temperature ranges from 24° C to 25° C and have grass and deciduous vegetation.
• The soils are overall grey colour which indicates its deficiency in organic matter.
• Nitrogen and Potash are not sufficient pH value ranges between 7.8 to 8.5
• These soils produce highest yield of wheat under irrigation. Paddy cultivation has been introduced in these soils.
• Excessive irrigation has resulted in some form of salinity.

Grey- Brown Podzolic & Forest Soils

Gurudaspur, Hoshiarpur, Nawanshahr & Ropar District

• These soils have developed under shrub and deciduous forests, steep slopes and rugged topography, much water erosion and less hot temperature conditions.
• These soils are reddish brown to olive brown in colour. 

Sodic and Saline Soils

Fazilka, Bathinda, Ferozpur, Muktsar and Faridkot Districts

• Salinity is the presence of high content of soluble salts (more than 0.2 percent) which make it difficult for the plants to absorb water from saline soils.
• The salt moves up and down in the soil along with soil water.
• The pH values are generally 7.3 to 8.5 and the soil is neutral in reaction.
• Sodic soils have a higher percentage of sodium ( more than 15 %) salt and high pH value above 8.5 and strong alkaline reaction.
• Saline soils of south-western Punjab are of recent origin resulting from surface flooding and or rise in the ground water.
• During summer period of excessive evaporation, salts accumulate at the surface.
• Lower terraces, along river Ravi, in Amritsar and Gurdaspur districts and along river Satluj in Nakodar and Sultanpur Tehsil and south western parts of Kapurthala have uncultivated moderately to severely sodic and saline soils which are water logged pockets. They have aquatic horizon.