Inceptisols: General characteristics: These are usually the weakly developed young soil though they are more developed than entisols. Area (in Thousand Hectares): 130372.9 Percentage of the total area of India: 39.74 Entisols: General characteristics: Usually young or underdeveloped. Lack vertical development of horizons. These are less fertile soils. Area (in Thousand Hectares): 92131.71 Percentage of the total area of India: 28.08 Alfisols: General characteristics: Pale, greyish brown to reddish in colour with moderate-to-high reserves of basic cations and are fertile. Although their productivity depends on moisture and temperature. They are supplemented by the moderate application of lime and other chemical fertilizers. Area (in Thousand Hectares): 44448.68 Percentage of the total area of India: 13.55 Vertisols: General characteristics: These are expandable clay soils, formed of more than 30% clays. Vertisol clays are black when wet and become iron-hard when dry. When drying, Vertisols crack, and the cracks widen and deepen as the soil dries; this produces cracks 2 to 3 cm wide. These are productive soils. The regur soils of India are an example of vertisols. Area (in Thousand Hectares): 27960 Percentage of the total area of India: 8.52