TOPOGRAPHY & SOILS OF ASSAM

I !

A BRIEF A('('(MINT OF TOPOGRAPHY AND SOU, OF ASSAM

Assam covets a territory o f 78,5?. 1 sq km and can he divided into two distinct

physiographic divisions, the plains and the hills. The hill division sepaiates the two valleys o f

the Brahmaputra and the Baiak iivets The Brahmaputra valley covers along 56,000 sq. km

of alluvial plain interspersed with small hillocks and swampy low lands which ate subjected

to annual Hoods kite soil consists o f sand, sand-stones, pebbles and sand and clay with

decomposed vegetable matteis The Barak valley covets about 7000 sq km, which is an

undulating plain with small hillocks and swamps at intervals. The river Barak dominates the

valley and swells to devastating, propoilions during the rains

Agticulturallv the sla te has abundance o f water, fertile soils and vast biological

diversity that makes the area a (topical ccnlic o f diversity o f flora and fauna The important

agricultural problems include ehionie devastation by floods, degradation o f ecology,

environment besides scarcity o f marketing, transport and communication facilities due to

geographical isolation

Climate: The climate is oppressive humid, tropical type in the plains and pleasant suh-aipinc

type in hills There are four seasons in a year viz (a) Winter (December to February) (ii) Ihe-

Monsoon or hot weather (March to May) (iii) Monsoon (June to September) and (iv) Post

Monsoon (October to November) as classified by the Indian Meteorological Department

Temperature: There is not much difference o f temperature between hot weather and the

monsoon seasons Average maximum temperature during the monsoon higher than that

during the hot wcathei at many places ovei the plains The day temperature often increases

due to decrease in cloudiness Rainfall occurs during these periods due to formation monsoon

depression over the Bay o f Bengal fable 2 I represents the seasonal mean maximum and

minimum temperatures during the study period in Kamrup. Nagaon and Sonitpur districts o f

Assam.

a Lt 1*1
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Table 2.1. Seasonal maximum and minimum temperatures (mean) o f Kamrup, Nagaon and
Sonitpur of Assam during 1996-1997.
District Jan to Feb. March to May June to Sept. Oct to Dec,
Max......... Min Max...... Min Max...... Min Max...... Min
1996
Kanirup j 24.40 11.40 29.70 19.10' 32.60 25.00 27.20 16.50
Nagaon 24.70 11.60 30.20 19 60 32.20 26.00 27.60 16.70
Sonitpur ] 25.80 10,70 34.40 16,10 36 30 22.40 30.40 13.40
1997
Kamrup 24.00 11.20 30.50 19 30 32 10 25.10 26.30 18.90
Nagaon 23.30 11.30 30 00 18.80 3190 25,00 28.20 16.30
Sonitpur 25.60 8.90 33.30 15 80 35 60 26.60 29.80 14.40
Rainfall. Rainfall occurs almost in all the seasons of the year. Duting winter, eastward
passage o f westerly wind gets disturbed along the foothills o f the Himalayas and causes
rainfall over North-Cast India In hot weather rain occurs mostly in association with
thunderstorms. Nearly 25% of the total annual rainfall occurs during this season The South
West monsoon mostly sets in horn the thiid week of June resulting in heavy rain and lasts
throughout the season until third week of September The seasonal rainfall pattern according
!
to sugarcane cultivation is presented below.
Table 2.2. Seasonal rainfall (mm) ofKamrup, Nagaon and Sonitpur district in 1996-1997.
District January-Febtuaiy March-May June-September October-December
1996
Kamuip 26.10 727.40 852.20 1645.00
Nagaon 36.30 389.90 1275.20 144.70
Sonitpur 10.20 430.50 802.00 162.70
1997
Kamrup 30.70 478.30 1317.60 34.40
Nagaon 41.00 314.40 1075.30 23,10
Sonitpur 55.30 436.80 905.90 79.70
Rainfall gradually ceases due to the retreating o f South West monsoon from last week
of September and the day temperature gradually decreases. The low monsoon clouds
disappear and occasional high clouds are seen in the sky.

Humidity: Weather o f Assam is always humid in most, o f the seasons. The relative humidity
rarely goes below 75% It is highest in monsoon and the lowest in pre-monsoon season. This
is the main cause of human discomfort particularly during pre-monsoon and monsoon
seasons.
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Soil: Soil o f Assam differs in different zones due lo online of topography, rainfall, cultivation
etc. Broadly, it is of 4 categories viz, (a) new alluvial (b) old alluvial (c) red loam and (d)
laterite. The soils o f the north and south part of the Brahmaputra valley are formed by the
alluvium transported by the river Brahmaputra and its tributaries. The soils o f the Barak
valley are not very much different from those of the Brahmaputra valley soils

The organic matter content of the soils in different zones o f Assam varies
considerably depending on vegetation, degree o f decomposition, rainfall and cultivation. The
forest soil contains higher organic matter Organic carbon content in hill soils varies from
0 72 to 4 6% and in Brahmaputra and Barak valley it varies from 0 174 to 0 65%. The
organic carbon content ranges from 0 35 to 3 71% and 0 50 lo 0.57% in Nagaon and Sonitpur
disliict while 50% o f soils of Kamrup district are medium in organic carbon content.

The total nitrogen content associates closely with organic matter. Generally, it is
higher in red loam soil. The nitrogen content o f the Brahmaputra valley soils ranges from
0 013 to 0 217%, while in Barak valley soil the nitrogen content is comparatively higher.

Phosphorus content o f nearly 50% of the plains district soils is medium while that o f
the two hill districts is reported to be very low. Available phosphorous in Kanmip, Nagaon
and Sonitpur district iange from about 4 48 to 38.97 kg/ha

Available potash is as high as 20% in the soil o f Cachar district, while in other
districts it ranges from low to medium In Kamrup, Nagaon and Sonitpur districts it ranges
from about 89.6 to 537.6 kg/ha.

High acidity is the chief characteristics o f sods of this part o f India. pH ranges from
4.4 to 6.6, mainly due to the high rainfall coupled with high temperature at low altitudes,
non-decomposed organic matter associated with low temperature at higher altitudes and hilly
topography. These encourage the losses o f alkali and alkaline earth metals from the surface
soils Higher level o f acidity render almost 90% o f applied phosphorous into insoluble forms
which becomes unavailable to crops

The important bio-physical constraints faced by the farmers o f Assam are acidic soil,
inaccessible areas, undulating topography, soil etosion and degradation, low level of
technology etc. Some important nutrient management problems in soil are - high soil acidity.
 I f .

poor nutrient status, lack o f moisture content in uppoi ridges o f hill slopes, iron toxicity and

low phosphorous availability due to high iron and aluminum contents, loss o f soil and

nutrient due to erosion and leaching due to terraced topography, light texture and poor

physical conditions

Agroclimatic zones On the basis o f weather conditions, terrain and soil characteristics, the

slate o f Assam has been broadly classified into six agroclimatic zones These zones are

mentioned below

Table 2.3. Agroclimatic zones o f Assam

d No Zone Districts
North Hank Plain Lakhimpur, Sonitpur and Mangaldai
Upper Brahmaputra Valley Dihriigarh, Sibsagar and Jorhat including
Majuli liver island.
Central or North Biahmapulra valley Nagaon
. l ower Brahmaputra valley Kamrup, Barpeta, Kokrajhar and (ioalpara
Barak Valley Cachar
> Hill Karbi Anglong and North Cachar hills
Cropping pattern There is scope to produce wide range o f crops in Assam like, pulse,

oilseeds, fibre and cash crops However, rice dominates the area as major crop The

following figure (figure 2) shows the major cropping pattern o f Assam

Fig 7 Area under rultivatinn (in percent)

Oilseed
9% Vegetables &

Maize Sugarcane
1% 1%

*l)ata taken from “ Basic Agricultural Statistics” , Assam, 1997-98

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Agricultural product of various crops in Assam is much lower as compared to other

states of the country. A comparative data with the all India level is shown in Table 2.4.
Table 2,4. Average yield o f some important crops (Kg/ha).
SI. No. Crops Assam India
1 Rice 1359.00 1879.00
2 Pulses 552.00 584.00
3 Oil seeds 596.00 793.00
4 Sugarcane 41109 00 66500.00
*Date taken from: “Basic Agricultural Statistics”, Assam, 1997-98