Problematic Soils and Their Management

Contents: 1. Soil quality and health/Abhay Kumar, M.S. Malik, M.H. Siddiqui and M.S. Yadava. 2. Wasteland and Problem Soils in India/Abhay Kumar, Indra Singh, Ram Gopal and Shailendra Kumar. 3. Area of Distribution of Wasteland and Problem Soils in Jharkhand/Deo Kumar. 4. Soil Forming Factors and Processes/Abhay Kumar, Bijay Kumar Singh and P.R. Oraon. 5. Saline and Sodic Soils and Their Reclamation and Management/Swati Shabnam, Kerobim Lakra and Soumita Sankar Das. 6. Acid Soils and Acid Sulphate Soils and Their Reclamation and Management/Asisan Minz and Rakesh Kumar. 7. Eroded and Compacted Soils and Their Reclamation and Management/Reshma Shinde, Shikha Verma  and P.K. Sarkar. 8. Water Logged Soils and Their Reclamation and Management/Asha Kumari Sinha. 9. Polluted Soils and Their Reclamation and Management/Abhay Kumar, Sunita Kumari, Ram Gopal and Vikas Rena. 10. Calcareous Soils and Their Reclamation and Management/Swati Shabnam, Suomitra Sankar Das and Kerobim Lakra. 11. Desert Soils and Their Reclamation and Management/    Shikha Verma and Reshma Shinde. 12. Black Cotton Soils and Their Reclamation and Management/ S. Firdous and Parthasarathi T. 13. Irrigation Water, Their Quality and Standards/Swati Shabnam. 14. Efficient Utilization of Saline Water in Agriculture Irrigation/Swati Shabnam and Shushama Majhi. 15. Remote Sensing and GIS in Diagnosis and Management of Problem Soils/Ram Gopal, D.R. Prajapati, Sunita Kumari and Vikas Rena. 16. Multipurpose Tree Species (MPTs)/Abhay Kumar, M.S. Malik, M.H. Siddiqui and M.S. Yadava. 17. Bioremediation of Polluted Soil Through MPTs/Abhay Kumar, Virendra Singh and Salil Kumar Tiwari. 18. Land Capability and Sustainability Classification/Bijay Kumar Singh and P.R. Oraon. 19. Problematic Soils Under Different Agro-ecosystems/Sheela Barla and R.R. Upasani.

The soils which possess characteristics that make them uneconomical for the cultivation of crops without adopting proper reclamation measures are known as problem soils. For the management of problematic soils, some general principles have to be considered for proper implementation of the reclamation measures. Some soils have serious physical and chemical limitations to cultivation. Physical limitations can be managed by irrigation, drainage, mulching, manuring, tillage, and soil conservation measures such as terracing, contouring, and cover crops, whichever is appropriate. Some chemicals are also added to the soil as an integral part of the reclamation program adopted to improve the saline, alkali and other soils.

This book contains 19 chapters on Soil quality and health, Distribution of Waste land and problem soils in India and Jharkhand, Soil forming factors and Processes Reclamation and management of Saline and sodic soils, Acid soils and Acid Sulphate soils, Calcareous soils, Eroded and Compacted soils, Flooded soils, Polluted soils, Irrigation water-quality and standards, Efficient utilization of saline water in agriculture, Remote sensing and GIS in diagnosis and management of problem soils, Multipurpose tree species, Bio remediation through MPTs of soils, land capability land suitability classification, Problematic soils under different Agro-ecosystems, etc.