Fine Sand and Silt Mineralogy of Some Inceptisols and Vertisols of Trans Yamuna Plain in Relation to Landforms

Mineralogy of fine sand and silt fractions of selected horizons of four pedons representing various landforms of alluvial plain in Banda district of Uttar Pradesh was investigated. Light minerals constituted bulk of fine sand fraction and comprised quartz, orthoclase and plagioclase feldspars and muscovite in order of their abundance. Heavy minerals contributed very small fraction and were dominated by opaque minerals followed by zircon, hornblende and biotite. In silt fraction, quartz was the dominant mineral in all pedons. Feldspars were next abundant except in Khraund soils of piedmont plain which contained higher proportion of mica. Mica was absent in Badausa soils of undulating flood plain. Presence of kaolinite and absence of chlorite in Khraund soils was also observed. Mineralogical composition showed that variations are. mostly due to nature of source rock, weathering stage of sediments and varying cycles of deposition. Soils contained moderate to high amounts of weatherable minerals in both fractions, indicating their juvenile stage of devel()pment and fairly high to medium status of nutrient reserve.