EVALUATION OF LAND SUITABILITY FOR PRINCIPAL CROPS IN THE HENDIJAN REGION

Abstract

Today's excessive use of croplands and the resulting damages along with the ever?increasing demand for further crop productions have necessitated the best land management practices more than ever. Due to the current lack of any proper land management practices for Hendijan region in Khuzestan Province, southwest Iran, a land suitability evaluation study for key productions of the region, including wheat, alfalfa, maize, and barley, covering an area of 48956 ha was carried out in the region. Using the findings of the semi?detailed soil studies for this area, 19 soil series were iden?fied. Qualita?ve evalua?on was carried out by means of simple limitation and parametric methods (Storie and Square Root) and comparing land and climate characteristics with crop needs. The indexes obtained for barley, alfalfa and wheat were higher in comparison to that developed for maize. Limiting factors in different crop yield in the region along with climatic variables included soil physical properties, especially soil texture, salinity and alkalinity and drainage. From the two methods used, Square Root produced more realistic results in respect to the existing conditions of the region.