{"id":87168,"date":"2026-03-10T17:53:40","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T12:23:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=87168"},"modified":"2026-03-21T10:45:07","modified_gmt":"2026-03-21T05:15:07","slug":"black-soil","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/black-soil\/","title":{"rendered":"Black Soil, Origin, Formation, Geographical Distribution, Characteristics"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Black soil, also known as <\/span><b>Regur soil or Black cotton soil<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, is one of the most important soil types of India. It is especially <\/span><b>suitable for cotton cultivation <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and is <\/span><b>mainly found in the Deccan Plateau region.<\/b><\/p>\n<h2><b>Black Soil Origin and Formation<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Black Soil is primarily formed by the <\/span><b>weathering of basaltic rocks <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">of the Deccan Trap region which were formed by volcanic eruption\u00a0 during the <\/span><b>Cretaceous period.<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Black Soil Geographical Distribution<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Black soil is the <\/span><b>third most common <a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/soils-of-india\/#:~:text=Ans.,%2C%20Forest%2C%20and%20Peaty%20soils.&amp;text=Ans.,%E2%80%93%20sand%2C%20silt%20and%20clay.\" target=\"_blank\">soil in India<\/a><\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. It covers nearly 16\u201318% of India\u2019s total geographical area.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Black soil is mainly found over the <\/span><b>Deccan Plateau.<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Major states include Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu. It is also found in parts of Chhattisgarh and along the Narmada and <a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/tapti-river-system\/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Tapi river<\/strong><\/a> valleys.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Black Soil Characteristics<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Colour: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Black Soil is dark black in colour due to the presence of organic matter and iron and aluminium.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Texture:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Black Soil is fine grained and clayey in nature.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>High Water Holding Capacity:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Black Soil has a very high water holding capacity, making it suitable for rain-fed agriculture in semi- arid regions. Moisture remains available to crops even during dry spells.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Self-Ploughing:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Due to high clay content, black soil shrinks and develops deep, wide cracks during hot, dry seasons. These cracks allow for significant aeration and natural mixing of soil particles, effectively &#8220;ploughing&#8221; itself without human intervention.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Rich in <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">lime (calcium carbonate), iron, magnesium, and alumina.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Poor in <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">nitrogen, phosphorus, and organic matter.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Crops:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Black soil is famous for cotton farming, but it is also suitable for soybean, groundnut, sunflower, jowar, maize, pulses, sugarcane, pulses, and some fruits. It supports both Kharif and Rabi crops due to moisture retention capacity.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>UPSC CSE Previous Year Question (2021)\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Q: The black cotton soil of India has been formed due to the weathering of<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Brown forest soil<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fissure volcanic rock<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Granite and schist<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Shale and limestone<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><b>Ans: 2<\/b><\/p>\n<table style=\"border-collapse: collapse; width: 91.0675%; height: 235px;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr style=\"height: 25px;\">\n<td class=\"tb-color\" style=\"width: 100%; text-align: center; height: 25px;\" colspan=\"2\"><strong>Related Post<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 25px;\">\n<td style=\"width: 50%; height: 25px; text-align: center;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/soil-pollution\/\" target=\"_blank\">Soil Pollution<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 50%; height: 25px; text-align: center;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/black-soil\/\" target=\"_blank\">Black Soil<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 25px;\">\n<td style=\"width: 50%; height: 25px; text-align: center;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/soil-degradation\/\" target=\"_blank\">Soil Degradation<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 50%; height: 25px; text-align: center;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/alluvial-soil\/\" target=\"_blank\">Alluvial Soil<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 25px;\">\n<td style=\"width: 50%; height: 25px; text-align: center;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/soil-conservation\/\" target=\"_blank\">Soil Conservation<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 50%; height: 25px; text-align: center;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/red-soil\/\" target=\"_blank\">Red Soil<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 25px;\">\n<td style=\"width: 50%; height: 25px; text-align: center;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/soil-erosion\/\" target=\"_blank\">Soil Erosion<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 50%; height: 25px; text-align: center;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/mountain-soil\/\" target=\"_blank\">Mountain Soil<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 25px;\">\n<td style=\"width: 50%; height: 25px; text-align: center;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/laterite-soil\/\" target=\"_blank\">Laterite Soil<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 50%; height: 25px; text-align: center;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/soil-fertility\/\" target=\"_blank\">Soil Fertility<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 25px;\">\n<td style=\"width: 50%; height: 25px; text-align: center;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/soils-of-india\/\" target=\"_blank\">Soils of India<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 50%; height: 25px; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/western-disturbances-in-india\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Western Disturbances<\/strong><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 25px;\">\n<td style=\"width: 50%; height: 25px; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/geomorphology\/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Geomorphology<\/strong><\/a><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 50%; height: 25px; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/coastal-states-of-india\/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Coastal States of India<\/strong><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 25px;\">\n<td style=\"width: 50%; height: 25px; text-align: center;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/soil-profile\/\" target=\"_blank\">Soil Profile<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 50%; height: 25px; text-align: center;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/loamy-soil\/\" target=\"_blank\">Loamy Soil<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 25px;\">\n<td style=\"width: 50%; height: 10px; text-align: center;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/khadar-soil\/\" target=\"_blank\">Khadar Soil<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 50%; height: 10px; text-align: center;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/bhangar-soil\/\" target=\"_blank\">Bhangar Soil<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Black soil, also called regur soil, forms from Deccan basalt rocks and covers 16\u201318% of India. Known for high moisture retention, it is ideal for cotton and other crops.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":87171,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[786],"tags":[5304,4935,5102],"class_list":{"0":"post-87168","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-general-studies","8":"tag-black-soil","9":"tag-geography","10":"tag-geography-notes","11":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87168","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=87168"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87168\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":94031,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87168\/revisions\/94031"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/87171"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=87168"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=87168"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=87168"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}