Laterite Soil
Laterite soil is a rusty colour, iron and aluminium rich rock like appearing soil that gets formed due to prolonged weathering of the parent rocks mainly in hot and humid tropical areas.
Composition: Laterite soil contains mineral and compound content including contents like – Aluminium Oxides, micas, Potash mica, Black mica, Hematite, Iron Oxides, Manganese Oxides, Pyroxene, Plagioclase, etc.
Usefulness: Laterite soil is used for growing rich crops that needs aluminium and iron. It is also used for beautifying construction needs.
Characteristics: The characteristic features of Laterite soil is given below in points.
Laterite soil is rich in iron and aluminium content.
Formed in hot and wet tropical areas of the country.
Is rusty-red in appearance due to the iron oxide content in it.
Is formed under the chemical weathering due to weather changes.
Usually poor in lime, potash and magnesium contents.
Contains low humus content due to formation under high temperature.
Favourable Crops: The crops that grows well in laterite soil includes:
Coffee
Tea
Spices
Coconut
Rubber
Cashew
Climate: Hot, wet and humid climate of the tropical and subtropical regions is most suitable for the laterite soil.
Conclusion: The laterite soil has dual specialization of growing crops and being used for construction purposes as well. This definitely makes it a super soil!
