Ten deep black soil profiles from eight districts of Andhra Pradesh were studied and classified according to Soil Taxonomy. Based on their morphology and physicochemical properties, the soils were grouped under the order Vertisol, suborder Ustert, great group Haplustert, sub groups Typic and Chromic Haplusterts and under the family fine/very fine, montmorillonitic (calcareous), hyperthermic, Typic/Chromic Haplusterts. Light minerals dominated the fine sand fraction; the dominant light mineral was quartz and dominant heavy minerals encountered were ilmenite, epidote, gamet, amphibole and zircon. These mineral assemblages indicated that the soils were at different stages of weathering and the angular shape of the mineral grains indicated that the soils were
Characterization of Vertisols, mineralogy of fine sand, Soil Taxonomy
