Morphological, Physico-Chemical and Mineralogical Characteristics of Some Shrink-Swell Soils of Maharashtra
2012
Deshmukh, V.V. | Ray, S.K. | Bhattacharyya, T. | Tamboli, B.D. | Bagwan, I.R. | Kadam, J.R.
Shrink-swell (vertisols and their intergrades) soils cover an extensive area especially in peninsular India. Two benchmark vertisols from Maharashtra namely Seloo (P₁) from Wardha and Saikhindi (P₂) from Ahmednagar districts developed from basaltic alluvium, and alluvium weathered basalt material under varying land uses were studied for their morphological, physical, chemical and mineralogical properties. The surface horizon of both the Seloo and Saikhindi soils had very dark grayish brown colour. Both the soils were very friable at the surface, friable in the subsurface horizons and the texture was clayey throughout the profiles. Seloo soils were moderately alkaline (pH 8.0 to 8.4) and Saikhindi soils strongly alkaline (pH 8.5 to 9.0) in reaction. In both the soils, the fine clay content was more than 80%. The coefficient of linear extensibility (COLE) for Seloo (0.18 to 0.26) indicated the high shrink-swell potential which commensurate with high smectite content of these soils. The lower values of EC (0.26 to 0.68 dSm⁻¹) in combination with higher ESP (3.7 to 5.2%) in Saikhindi soils enables the soils to remain in a more dispersed state resulting in a higher degree of the problem of sodicity in these soils. Both the soils registered high CEC values, which ranged from 64.8 to 71.1 cmol (p+) kg⁻¹ and 47.4 to 54.5 cmol (p+) kg⁻¹ for Seloo and Saikhindi, respectively. Organic carbon values decreased with depth in both the pedons. Mineralogy of fine clay fraction was dominated by smectite with small amounts of vermiculite and traces of chlorite, kaolin and feldspar. Both Seloo and Saikhindi soil fine clays were dominant in beidellite/nontronite type of minerals.
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