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Unit 5 Soil

The document discusses different types of soil including sandy, silt, clay, and loamy soil, highlighting their properties and suitability for agriculture. Sandy soil has poor nutrient and water retention, silt soil is more fertile and holds water better, clay soil has excellent water storage but poor drainage, and loamy soil combines the best properties of all three types. It also poses questions regarding soil types, fertility, and water holding capacity.

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karthick
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49 views18 pages

Unit 5 Soil

The document discusses different types of soil including sandy, silt, clay, and loamy soil, highlighting their properties and suitability for agriculture. Sandy soil has poor nutrient and water retention, silt soil is more fertile and holds water better, clay soil has excellent water storage but poor drainage, and loamy soil combines the best properties of all three types. It also poses questions regarding soil types, fertility, and water holding capacity.

Uploaded by

karthick
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

UNIT -5- ROCKS AND SOILS

LAYERS & PROPERTIES OF SOIL


SOIL HORIZONS
PARTS OF SOIL
PROPERTIES OF SOIL
Soil drainage
Amount of air
UNIT -5- ROCKS AND SOILS

TYPES OF SOIL
SANDY SOIL

• It consists of small particles of weathered rock.


• Sandy soils are one of the poorest types of soil for growing plants because it has
• very low nutrients and poor water holding capacity, which makes it hard for the
• plants roots to absorb water.
• This type of soil is very good for the drainage system.
• Sandy soil is usually formed by the breakdown or fragmentation of rocks like
granite, limestone and quartz.
SILT SOIL
• Silt, which is known to have much smaller particles compared to sandy soil
and is made up of rock and other mineral particles.
• It is smaller than sand and larger than clay.
• It is the smooth and fine quality of the soil that holds water better than sand.
• Silt is easily transported by moving currents and it is mainly found near the
river, lake and other water bodies.
• The silt soil is more fertile compared to the other three types of soil.

• Therefore, it is also used in agricultural practices to improve soil fertility.


CLAY SOIL
• Clay is the smallest particle amongst the other two types of soil.
• The particles in this soil are tightly packed together with each other with
very little or no airspace.
• This soil has very good water storage qualities and makes it hard for
moisture and air to penetrate into it.
• It is very sticky to the touch when wet, but smooth when dried.
• Clay is the densest and heaviest type of soil which does not drain well or
provide
• space for plant roots to flourish.
LOAMY SOIL
• It is a combination of sand, silt and clay such that the beneficial properties
from each is included.
• For instance, it has the ability to retain moisture and nutrients;hence, it is
more
suitable for farming.
• This soil is also referred to as an agricultural soil as it includes an
• equilibrium of all three types of soil materials being sandy, clay, and silt
and it also
happens to have humus.
• Apart from these, it also has higher calcium and pH levels because of its
inorganic origins.
1. What are the different types of soil?
2. Which soil is most fertile?
3. Which type of soil, water holding capacity is
maximum?

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