Soil color serves as a key pedogenic indicator in the Godavari Basin, India

The Godavari River basin, a major rice —producing region, requires an accurate understanding of soil drainage to enhance crop productivity. Soil color-evaluated using the Munsell chart and converted to the CIE Lab system, acts as a reliable indicator of soil moisture, texture, and drainage. In this system, L* denotes lightness, a* redness, and b* yellowness. A drainage index was derived using Mahalanobis distance based on these color parameters. A total of forty-two soil profiles were opened from three landforms—fluvial, fluviomarine, and marine—using a 1:250,000-scale soil resource inventory. Fluvial soils exhibited clay to silty clay textures with Ap horizons (0–18 cm) and Bg horizons extending beyond 100 cm, indicating sustained alluvial deposition. Fluviomarine soils displayed stratified silty clay to silty clay loam and sand layers with subsoil effervescence, indicating carbonate accumulation under combined fluvial and marine influence. In contrast, marine soils showed lighter silt loam to sandy textures, reflecting slower pedogenesis. CIE Lab analysis showed marine soils are lighter (L* = 50.65) with higher b* values (23.76), while fluvial soils are darker (L* = 33.88) and more reddish-yellow (b* = 12.32). Fluviomarine soils exhibited the highest color variability, reflecting heterogeneous sediment mixing and fluctuating redox conditions. Drainage assessments showed moderate to poor subsoil drainage in fluvial and fluviomarine soils, which influenced root growth, water retention, and soil color. These results demonstrated strong relationships between soil color, texture, and drainage, emphasizing the need for site-specific management to optimize irrigation, fertility, and pedogenesis in the Godavari rice landscapes. • Marine soils have lighter, sandy horizons with slower pedogenesis, showing higher L* and b* values. • Soil color is a reliable and non-intrusive method for assessing soil health and fertility. • Soil color correlates strongly with soil drainage class.