86. Soil Resources of Rajasthan

CORE Key Points at a Glance

1. 1

   Rajasthan has 7 principal soil types: desert/arid, alluvial, red, laterite, black (regur), brown/forest, and saline-alkaline soils.

2. 2

   Desert/Arid soils (aeolian) cover ~61% of Rajasthan's total area, concentrated in western districts from Bikaner and Jaisalmer to Barmer and Jodhpur.

3. 3

   Alluvial soils of eastern Rajasthan — along Chambal, Banas, Gambhir and Banganga rivers — support the state's most productive irrigated farming (wheat, mustard, soybean).

4. 4

   Red soils (ferruginous) occur in Dungarpur and Banswara districts of the south-eastern tribal belt, derived from Precambrian gneissic rocks.

5. 5

   Black soils (regur) — derived from Deccan basalt — are found in Kota, Bundi, Jhalawar, and Chittorgarh districts; they expand when wet and crack when dry.

6. 6

   Laterite soils are confined to the hilly regions of Udaipur, Sirohi, and Pratapgarh districts, formed under high rainfall leaching conditions.

7. 7

   Saline-alkaline soils (usar/banjar) fringe the inland drainage basins of Sambhar, Didwana, Degana, and the IGNP command area in northern Rajasthan.

8. 8

   The ICAR classification (Indian Council of Agricultural Research) categorises Rajasthan's soils into 8 orders: Aridisols, Entisols, Inceptisols, Alfisols, Vertisols, Mollisols, Oxisols, and Ultisols.

9. 9

   Major soil problems include wind erosion (Thar Desert — 59% of eroded land), waterlogging (1.54 lakh ha in IGNP command area), salinity/alkalinity, and micronutrient deficiency (zinc, boron, sulphur).

10. 10

    The Soil Health Card Scheme (मृदा स्वास्थ्य कार्ड योजना) was launched nationally in February 2015; Rajasthan issued 72.66 lakh soil health cards in the first two cycles (2015-17 and 2017-19).

11. 11

    Rajasthan has 27 soil testing laboratories (मृदा परीक्षण प्रयोगशालाएँ) under the Agriculture Department serving all 50 districts, with a combined annual testing capacity of over 4 lakh soil samples.

12. 12

    Wind erosion removes ~60–100 tonnes of topsoil per hectare per year in active Thar Desert zones; shelter belts (shelterbelt plantation) under CAZRI reduce soil loss by 40–60%.

13. 13

    Indira Gandhi Nahar Pariyojana (IGNP) command area irrigation has transformed ~7.9 lakh ha of desert in Bikaner, Jaisalmer, Ganganagar, and Hanumangarh — but secondary salinisation now affects ~1.54 lakh ha.

14. 14

    Contour bunding (समोच्च बंधन), terracing (सीढ़ीदार खेती), and check dams are the primary mechanical conservation measures in the Aravalli and Vindhyan hilly tracts of southeastern Rajasthan.

15. 15

    Under the National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA), Rajasthan has implemented soil health management, on-farm water management, and rainfed area development across 18 arid and semi-arid districts. / NMSA के अंतर्गत राजस्थान के 18 शुष्क और अर्ध-शुष्क जिलों में मृदा स्वास्थ्य प्रबंधन लागू किया गया है।