Bhal Debate

[Farhan Ahmed]

is the canal near you cemented or not?

[Hamad Ahmed Kisana]

yes it is brickwalled now.before it when we builded our house in 1996 then it was without cemented walls and pure canal we filled our garden with bhal from sides of it now it is a type of nullah due to sewerage and other impurities..

[Farhan Ahmed]

Sheikhupura soil is clay. Further reading

"Disease incidence was minimum on sandy soil in the Jhang
district and maximum in Sheikhupura district on the clay loam"

http://prr.hec.gov.pk/Chapters/119S-5.pdf

You don't add clay/silt in clay soil but sand to make it more aerate. So called Bhal as proven by studies in Pakistan is highly alkaline above 8. I can share reference if you want. It does not contain any bio-foods/nutrients. The concept of adding Bhal regardless of considering soil texture is awkward. Generally it holds good for soil types such as Karachi, where soil is sandy....to make it more silty/clay, thus water retentive.

What is desired in our regions is silt. Which is something in between sand & clay, however this silt is a river borne phenomenon. as silt being light in nature is driven by water currents from mountains. As these rivers transform into man made canals this silt remains behind in water reservoirs and river banks.

Add Sand to improve your soil conditions. Sand is very forgiving in nature. Its quick draining which is the basic requirement of most of the plants. Yes it will require more effort in terms of more watering but in turn you get good drainage, less fungus and more porous soil. Sandy Loam is ideal, it just lacks nutrients. By adding manures or chemical fertilizers you get the best plant media.

[Farhan Ahmed]

What is bhal.

bhal is a soil which is found near canals may be near rivers but i don't know.it is a fine type of soil because due to high volume of sand and stone it is a porous type clay.if it is watered regularly then it is very soft and if left dry then becomes stone hard.it is so much soft that even to make a gachi is very difficult breaks very easily. bhal is something between clay and sand.

Something in between is silt. We can never generalize any soil, thus bhal also, every soil has its own specific nature which can only be found by studying it deeply. There is nothing as such porous clay. Sand never gets hard even if not watered at all. Gachi maybe breaking due to silty nature.

is adding bhal necessary.

i will say no...it is not necessary but useful so it is often used.often it is not better in agriculture because rice(munji) cannot be cultivated in pure bhal it cant keep water for many days which is necessary in monji cultivation.but for pot plants i think it is a major type of soil.it has good aeration so water logging is not possible.it is soft so roots are easily grown,draw back is this that regular watering is necessary.

We should consider soil additives/ or addition of other soil types by studying our soil type and not based on generalization that bhal is good.

what changes are we looking at after adding bhal.?

after adding bhal in clay type soil it becomes soft and airy.so useful for pots and if further well rotted manure is added then it is a miracle grower ..
these are just my points not an experts opinion so take it as light side.as you know that i am not a perfect gardener just learner so please.

Bhal has poor micro-nutrients generally and is dependent on what path it undertakes in its journey. Wonder what is leeching? Bhal is not a miracle grower but only adds features such as porosity or moisture retention.
In clay soil one should be adding sand....not silt or clay.


The concept arouse from adding river soil (Silt) to Lawns. Reason being silt is soft and somewhat better water retaining as compared to our sandy soils. Helps grass spread quick and remain moist.

[Hamad Ahmed Kisana]

ooooohh ... you have changed all my concepts.now i will work on it and prepare a new formula for upcoming seed sowing in containers.will use sand as experiment and check the result.or will use total compost for this purpose ...bhal as you said is not soil of sheikhupra... i agree with you that overall soil of sheikhupura is clay loam(چکنی مٹی) but few areas near canals are mixture of bhal and clay.bhal is soft then clay.i have seen both in our fields.so i think bhal is little bit superior than clay and has plenty of nutrients as well.i am satisfied with the results of bhal..it works without any fertilizer.

[Farhan Ahmed]

Young Alluvial(Bhal)
Alluvial is a general description of soils carried from river sources and often deposited along banks or in deltas before the river ends. Because this type of soil tends to be a silty loam, it is one of the richest soils and is suitable for many different types of plant growth. Young alluvial soils are those recently deposited by the river that have not had time to settle yet. They tend to be gray in color and may lack certain important nutrients such as phosphor and nitrogen.

Old Alluvial
Old alluvial soils are found at the bottoms of rivers and in areas where the river has deposited soil over time. The soil has typically changed to a brownish color, and resembles a loam more than a silt, although it still retains finer, silt-like qualities.


Now there are two more questions

1) Till what time can alluvial can be called Young?

2) What is the path that a specific river/water course undertakes, thereby what mineral sources it can possibly have?

[Farhan Ahmed]

The Soils of Pakistan may be divided into following two groups:
(i) Residual Soil
(ii) Transported Soil

Residual Soil:
Residual soil is formed by wear and tear of rocks affected by agents of weathering. For example sunlight, the frost, the rains etc. The upper surface of most of the rocks is first broken and then it is shifted to other areas and the remaining soil is therefore called Residual Soil.

Transported Soil:
Transported soil is carried away by the agents of change from one place to the other so it is called transported soil. The alluvial soil is carried by rivers to downs stream areas is very fertile. The Indus planes have been supplied with this kind of Soil by River Indus and its tributaries

KINDS OF SOIL DUE TO VARIOUS CONTENTS

The soils of Pakistan may be divided into a number of groups by chemical composition, organic contents, colour and texture. In the Northern Pakistan due to high percentage of organic matters the soil is dark brown and highly fertile. In the North Western Mountains of Pakistan the soil is reddish and has less organic contents so it produces grass mostly. The soil of upper Indus plain has much calcium carbonate and less organic matters. The lower Indus plain has a soil containing limestone, silt and clay. Soil of Baluchistan contains windblown deposits of loess mixed with Aluminum particles fertile but due to lack of water cannot be cultivated.

1) North Eastern reddish or deep brownish soil
The color of the soil of this region was reddish but now it is deep brownish due to inclusion of vegetation.

2) North Western reddish Soil
In this area rain fall is very low so, the color of the soil of this area is reddish due to less vegetation.

3) Upper plains of hard crust soil, soft crust soil and sandy crust soil
The soil of this area is dry. It has more calcium carbonate and less vegetation constituents. It is also far from rivers. The soil of the areas lying in mountainous valleys of Indus in i.e. Jhelum Gujarat, Rawalpindi and Sialkot is called hard crust. The soil of eastern districts upper plains of the Indus basin is called soft crust soil and the soil of Multan and Bahawalpur areas is called sandy crust soil.

4) Yellow soil of Thal & Cholistan
The soil found in Thal and Cholistan desert areas is of yellow color and comprises and particles. It includes lime, phosphate, Potassium and iron particles which are the essential requirements of a fertile soil.

5) Loamy Soil of Lower Plains of Indus basin
In the western parts of the plains of Indus basin the soil is loamy. It has more of lime silt and sandy material. Its color is reddish.

6) The Yellowish soil of Nara and Thal
The soil of Nara and Thal deserts is of yellowish color.

7) Loess soil of Baluchistan Plateau
The soil found in the south West of Baluchistan Plateau is not less fertile. Its color is a bit reddish. It is called loess soil.

[Farhan Ahmed]

1.Clay soils
Clay soil, composed of many small, flat particles, feels sticky or plastic in your hands. Clay comes in many colors: red, yellow, bluish gray, or almost black. Clay soils warm up and dry out slowly, take in water slowly, and can store reserves of nutrients better than most other soils.
Clay can become as hard as a rock duting dry, warm weather if not watered regularly. Once dried out, it is almost impossible to water clay soil adequately with sprinklers. The surface seals over and stops water from penetrating easily. If this happens, you should make irrigation furrows to hold the water until it can soak in. Improve clay soils by digging in generous amounts of organic matter, such as peat moss, compost, or well- rotted manure, to improve drainage and aeration. Gypsum also helps improve the texture of clay, but does not add nutrients to the soil. Adding only sand to clay will not improve it; the soil will continue to form crusts

2.Sand and gravel soils
If your soil looks and feels like a sandbox or gravel pit, you have sandy or gravelly soil. Sandy soil is easy to work and warms up rapidly. However, it dries out quickly and then may blow around. In direct sun it can reflect enough heat to damage a vegetable crop. Fortunately, most sandy soils contain enough clay particles to make them reasonably responsive to fertilizers. Pure sand contains almost no nutrients and has little capacity to store moisture. However, most sandy soils have enough clay particles to hold some nutrients.
Gravelly soils are usually a mixture of gravel and sand, silt, or clay. Generally low in organic matter, they are also low in natural fertility. The best way to improve sandy or gravelly soil is to remove the larger pebbles and stones; then add coarse organic matter, such as peat moss, compost, or well-rotted manure. Clay added to sandy or gravelly soils will tend to collect in impervious layers instead of improving the soil.

3.Silt soils
Silt has an intermediate size between clay and sand. It consists of small, gritty particles that can pack down very hard. Silt ranges in color from gray to tan, yellow, and red. It’s usually not very fertile. Silt topsoils are often found over dense layers of clay that slow or stop drainage.
Both the topsoil and these lower layers should be broken up and kept loose by adding copious amounts of peat moss, compost, well-rotted sawdust, or wood shavings. Adding organic matter will improve the structure and fertility of silt soils. Adding clay or sand will not improve silt.

4.Loam Soils
Loam contains various proportions of clay, silt, sand, and organic matter. The proportions of each determine how easy the soil is to cultivate and how productive it is. Sandy loam with a fairly high content of organic matter is the easiest to cultivate, water, and weed. A loam that contains more than one-third clay acts almost like solid clay and needs lots of added organic matter to make it easy to manage.

5.Organic soils
Dark in color, organic soils are composed largely of peat moss or leaf mold. Your soil is not likely to be organic unless your house is built on an old lakebed, bog, or forest site. Organic soils are easy to work, weed, and water, but may warm up slowly because they retain moisture.
Since organic soils are usually high in nitrogen, they can benefit from fertilizers high in phosphate and potassium. Micronutrient deficiencies (of iron, copper, cobalt, zinc, and manganese) are common in this kind of soil, but can be remedied by using special fertilizers containing the missing nutrients.

[Farhan Ahmed]

Pakistan’s soils are classified as pedocals, which comprise a dry soil group with high concentrations of calcium carbonate and a low content of organic matter; they are characteristic of a land with low and erratic precipitation. The major soil groupings are Indus basin soils, mountain soils, and sandy desert soils. However, the very mode of soil formation gives rise to their diversification even within small areas. These soils vary in texture, chemical composition, colour, and organic content from place to place.

The Indus basin soils are mostly thick alluvium deposited by rivers and are of recent origin. Soils in the vicinity of river courses are the most recent and vary in texture from sand to silt loam and silty clay loams. They have a low organic content and are collectively known as the khaddar soils. Away from the river, toward the middle of the doabs, older alluvial soils (called bangar) are widely distributed. These soils are medium to fine in texture, have low organic content, and are highly productive under conditions of irrigation and fertilization. In some waterlogged areas, however, these soils are salinized. Strongly alkaline soils are localized in some small patches. In the submontane areas under subhumid conditions these soils are noncalcareous and have slightly higher organic content. In the delta the estuarine soils are excessively saline and barren.

Mountain soils are both residual (i.e., formed in a stationary position) and transported. Shallow residual soils have developed along the slopes and in the broken hill country. Those soils generally are strongly calcareous and have low organic content, but under subhumid conditions their organic content increases.

Sandy desert soils cover the Cholistan part of Sind Sagar Doab and western Balochistan. They include both shifting sandy soils and clayey floodplain soils. These include moderately calcareous and eolian (wind-borne) soils.

[Muhammad Arif Khan]

intresting