Alluvial soils have been formed due
to silting by the Indus river system.
These soils are very deep. The rever
flowing through its bed. Deposited the
coarse material first giving rise to
coarse sandy type of soils which are
found in Banaskantha and part of Mehsana
districts while comparatively
finer material was deposited at a further
distance near the sea. These soils are
further divided as.
These soils cover the entire northern
districts, namely, Banaskantha and Mehsana
except its southern part and the area
of Sabarkantha bordering Kheralu
and Vijapur talukas of Mehsana districts.
The original alluvial material in the
Banaskantha and some parts of the Mehsana
districts has been overlain by the sandy
material which has been
brought by the winds blowing through
the desert of Kutch, This sand which
is impregnated with salts has imparted
salinity to the areas where it has been
deposited. The remnants of original
parent material in small disintegrated
pieces are often visible in these soils.
The soils are classified as Ustipsamments
and Ustifiuents.
Base saturation is much
less as compared to
black soils. They are apparently
noncalcareous as the lime
is practically absent. Soil
reaction is neutral
to alkaline. From fertility
point of view, these soils
are low in available nutrients.
Alluvial
sandy loam to sandy clay loam
These soils are found in kheda and Gandhinagar
districts, eastern part of Ahmedabad
district,southern part of Mehsana district
and western part of Vadodara district.
In addition to this they are also
found in lowlying areas. There are two
types of soils locally known as
(I) Goradu or Gorat and
(ii) Bhatta soils.
The Goradu soils are nothing
but alluvial soils of older
origin, while Bhatta soils
are of recent origin deposited
chiefly along the banks
of river. In some places
even a third type of soil
locally known as Besar is
found which has a reddish
brown colour. They are silty
clay loam to clay loam in
texture. The soils of this
group are very deep , well
drained and reddish
brown in colour. They are
classified as Ustifluvents.
Heplaquents. Ustorthents
and Ustochrepts. These soils
are the most productive
in the whole of the state
and well supplied with due
to presence of illite type
of clay mineral..
Coastal
alluvial soils
The soils are sandy clay loam to clay
in texture. The soil reaction varies
with situation ranging from neutral
to highly alkaline. These soils are
normally medium in fertility. These
soils are classified as Halaquents,
Haplaquents, Fluvaquents, Halaquepts
and Haplaquepts
Lateritic
soils
The true laterites in real sense of
the term do not occur in Gujarat. However,
in Dangs districts, with abundant
forest vegetation and high annual precipitation
of about 250 cm lateritic soils have
developed. These soils are yellowish
red in colour in the upper horizon.
Colour changes to dark reddish
brown in the lower horizons. The thickness
of solum ranges from 22-40 cm. The surface
horizon is moderately porous having
weakly developed sub-angular blocky
to crumb structure. The soil reaction
is neutral to slightly acidic. These
soils are highly susceptible to erosion.
They are classified as Ustochrepts and
Ustorthents.
