Soil and clay minerals of Hazaribagh: Applications and scope in industries

Owing to large potential of clayey soil in agriculture sector leading to better yield of crops, analysis for micro and macronutrients of soil has been done eg.phosphorous, nitrogen, potassium, zinc, boron, iron, manganese, copper ranges from 0.05 ppm to .09 ppm, iron from 8.5 to 9.7 ppm, manganese from 2.3 to 3.3 ppm and zinc from 0.32 to 0.49 ppm. All these elements are essential for plant growth and decide the particular crop for specific soil profile. Clayey minerals, useful in water treatment and other industrial purposes are in abundance in Rajmahal Hills and some part of Hazaribagh district also contain clays useful for industry. Organic clays have found extensive use in plants, inks, greases and decolouring of oils. Clays over the years weather to the formation of soils rich in clay which impact colloidal character, plasticity and swelling character to the soil.