Punjab Soil and Vegetation

The fertile plains of Punjab boast of producing about two-third of the food grains produced annually in India. This is largely owing to the fertile soil of Punjab. Climatic differences result in a variety of soil which ultimately culminates into a wide range of crops and vegetation in Punjab.

South-western Punjab is mainly dominated by calcareous soil which includes desert soil and sierozem soil. The pH value in this zone ranges from 7.8 to 8.5 and also have grey and red desert soil, calsisol soil, regosol soil and alluvial soil. The soil of central Punjab ranges from sandy loam to clayey with pH value from 7.8 to 8.5 making alkalinity and salinity problematic for this place. The alluvial soil of this zone can be widely described as arid and brown soil or tropical arid brown soil. The soil in Eastern Punjab is loamy to clayey.

The state of Punjab produced 22.61% of the India's total production of wheat (15.5 metric tones), 10.78 % of rice (9.1 metric tones) and 12.4% of cotton (1.19 thousand bales) in the year 2000-01. No wonder, Punjab is rightly called India's bread-basket for its huge production of wheat. The other main vegetables and fruits grown in abundance in the state of Punjab are potatoes, chilies, oranges, pomegranates, apples, peaches, figs, mulberries, apricots, almonds, plums, mangoes, grapes, pears, litchis and lemons. Sugarcane, maize and cotton are grown in abundance in Punjab as well as barley, millet, oil-seeds, carrots, peas, beans, onions, turnips, cucumbers, and melons. Scorching heat during the summer months sometimes destroy the vegetation but with the downpour by south-west monsoon the entire land returns to its lush green color.




Last Updated on 22th January 2013