Rice Cultivation: The Humid Bengal-Assam Basin

The Humid Bengal-Assam basin includes

The major soil groups are as follows :

One of the most limiting factor in this region is the availability of water. The crop is grown in this region on flat lands to facilitate the water supply requirement. The alluvial soils deposited by the rivers mostly occupy the major part of the wetland rice soils in this region. These soils are formed from the silt deposition by the numerous tributaries of the Ganges and the Brahmaputra rivers. The water table is high and drainage is poor in the wetland rice soils.

Soils in the Assam valley are acidic and high in available phosphorus and potassium and moderate in organic matter and nitrogen. In the north-eastern mountainous upland areas of Assam, the soil is lateritic. In the upland areas drainage is good. The rice crop is better grown in acidic soils in the pH range of 5.5 to 6.5 . In the Gangetic delta, rice is successfully grown in saline soils of Sundarbans.