Soils Panjgur
The soils in Panjgur district are of two types. Western part of the district consists of alluvial soil while the eastern part has desert soil (a part of Kharan desert). The Kharan desert occupies a large area of western Balochistan and is covered with sands. With the virtual absence of vegetation, soil formation is minimal. In the west, wide basins bounded by hills and mountains are covered with alluvial soils. The foothills are covered with talus cones and alluvial fans generally composed of gravel, pebbles, and sands. Beyond the foothills, the valley floors are covered with silt and loam. These are fertile soils of great agricultural value in the rocky waste.
Soil in the dry crop (khushkaba) areas has more agricultural value than that of the irrigated lands. In irrigated areas continuous cultivation has gradually decreased all the nutrients in the soil. Shadows of closely planted date trees have diminished the nature’s process of nitrogen enrichment of soil by obstructing sunlight. Khushkaba lands are flood irrigated. Torrential waters from hill slopes bring along nutrient enriched soil, which is highly valuable for agriculture.
In Panjgur, soil is divided into four local categories; milk and mat for khushkaba, and zawar and kork for irrigated lands. Milk, found in Balgattar, Parome, Dasht-e-Shahbaz, Gichk and Rakhshan valley, is white soft clay brought down from the hills and deposited by the streams and hill torrents. It is considered fit for all kinds of grain crops, specially wheat and barley. It has a great capacity of moisture retention thus it does not crack or harden. Mat consists of a thick layer of silt containing a mixture of earth and sand. It is found around Isai and in the bed of Rakhshan river. Zawar, soil of irrigated lands, is composed of milk mixed with sand. It is good for rice and zurrat (sorghum) cultivation. Kork is another type of soil found in irrigated lands. In order to cultivate in this soil, milk has to be mixed in it continuously. Most of such land is irrigated by kaurjos, which periodically deposited sufficient silt to give the field a new lease of life. Many of the gardens in Panjgur are laid out in such land in which wheat and zurrat is cultivated under the date trees.
Soil erosion through wind is more potent in desert and semi-desert areas of the district because of minimal vegetation. It is a major threat to agriculture in the area. Afforestation can help minimising this problem.