4. Laterite soils (Oxisols)

• Laterite soils are mostly the end products of weathering, formed under high temperatures and high rainfall with alternate wet and dry periods.
• Laterite soils are red in color due to little clay and more gravel of red sand-stones.
• Lime and Silica are leached away in heavy rainfall, but the soil is rich in oxides of Iron and Aluminium compounds.
• They are very poor in lime, Magnesium, Potash and Nitrogen.
• Sometimes, the Phosphate content may be high in the form of Iron Phosphate.
• Laterite soils lack fertility due to intensive leaching.
• When manured and irrigated, some laterites are suitable for growing plantation crops like Tea, Coffee, Rubber, Cinchona, Coconut, Arecanut, etc.