Which of the following soils in India is ideal for cultivation of cotton?

Concept

A soil's suitability for a given crop depends on how closely its moisture-retention capacity, mineral content, texture, and drainage match that crop's physiological needs. Cotton specifically needs a soil that holds moisture through the dry season, is rich in lime, potash, and iron, and has a fine, self-ploughing clayey texture that swells when wet and cracks into aerating fissures when dry.

Application

Black soil (Regur soil), formed by the weathering of Deccan trap lava, matches this profile closely: it is a deep, clayey soil with high water-retention capacity, is rich in calcium carbonate, potash, magnesium, and iron, and develops wide cracks on drying that self-aerate the root zone. It covers the Deccan and Malwa plateaus — spanning Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, and parts of Andhra Pradesh/Telangana — which forms India's principal cotton belt. NCERT and NIOS geography texts identify Black soil as the soil ideal for cotton cultivation for exactly this reason, which is why it is popularly called "cotton soil".

Cross-check

• Alluvial soil is fine-textured and free-draining, favouring water-intensive cereals such as rice and wheat rather than a moisture-holding, self-ploughing texture.

• Red soil is coarse-grained with low nitrogen, phosphorus, and humus, and drains too quickly to sustain the moisture cotton needs.

• Laterite soil is heavily leached and acidic, poor in most plant nutrients, and unsuited to a nutrient- and moisture-demanding crop like cotton.

None of these soils combine the moisture-retention and mineral profile that cotton requires, confirming Black soil as the correct answer.