Textbook of Soil Science: An Introduction

The sustainable agricultural production is pre-requisite to ensure the food security of growing population of the country. The agricultural production primarily depends upon the soil quality and productivity. The maintenance of soil productivity requires proper understanding of the soil properties and processes taking place in soil and their effects on plant growth. This text book describes the different factors and process of soil formation along with the physical chemical and biological properties of the soil to assess their quality for potential use for optimum plant growth. Moreover, Soil Science is a favorable subject for UG and PG students of agricultural stream. This book will be useful for undergraduate and postgraduate students of Agricultural Universities and will cover almost all the aspects of soil science. An effort has been made to cover various aspects of Soil Science and its basics such as weathering of rocks and minerals for the formation of soil, soil morphology, and soil physics, chemistry, fertility and soil pedology viz. soil water, air and temperature, soil classification, soils of India, Soil colloids, soil reaction etc. It would also be helpful for students for the preparation of various competitive examinations like JRF, SRF, NET, ARS, AO (Agriculture Officer), UG and PG entrance.