Desert Soils, Saline and Alkaline Soils, Peaty and Other Organic Soils'

Desert Soils Such soils prevalent between the Indus and the Aravallis (in Punjab and Rajasthan) are covered under a mantle of blown sand. Some of the soils contain a high percentage of soluble salts but are poor in organic matter. They are rich enough in phosphate though poor in nitrogen.
Haryana, Rajasthan and Punjab have land covered with such soils. In all, they cover about 1.42 lakh sq km of land surface.
A number of crops can be cultivated. These soils in many parts of Rajasthan, for instance, have emerged suitable for growth of cotton and cereals. .

Saline and Alkaline Soils These salt-im­pregnated and infertile soils, also known as reh, usar and kallar, form an important soil group. Salts that make up saline soils include free sodium and those that compose alkali soils include sodium chloride. These soils have un­decomposed mineral fragments that on weath­ering produce magnesium, sodium and calcium salts.

Spread across arid and semi-arid northern India such as parts of Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan and also Bihar, the saline and alkali soils cover a land surface of 170 lakh hectares.

Peaty and Other Organic Soils' Peaty soils with a high quantity of soluble salts and organic matter are found in parts of Kerala (Alleppey and Kottayam districts). They, however, lack potash and phosphate. Marshy salts, high in vegetable matter, are found in northern Bihar, coastal parts of O..rissa, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal and parts of Uttar Pradesh.