Crop Land Suitability and Sustainability of Agriculture in Mahendragarh District, Haryana

By : Gulshan Mehra , Rajeshwari

Page No: 281-300

Abstract
Crop-land suitability analysis is a prerequisite to achieve optimum utilization of the available land resources for sustainable agricultural production. In this context, the present paper attempts to study the suitability of land for present crop selection in Mahendragarh district, Haryana. The ‘‘Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP)’’ method, commonly used in land use suitability analysis, has been utilized in this study. For this, seven parameters which are identified as significant in growth of crop have been taken into account. These seven parameters are: slope, soil pH value, soil depth, rainfall, temperature, ground water depth and soil texture. In determining the weights of the parameters, experts opinions were consulted, and the agricultural land suitability map generated was divided into 4 categories according to the land suitability classification of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The analysis of suitable sites for different crops reveal that larger area of the district is suitable for growing mustard followed by guar, pearl millet, wheat and gram crops. An attempt has also been made to study the existing cropping pattern with the help of remote sensing data for both rabi and kharif seasons to assess whether the existing cropping pattern is sustainable given its geographical and other conditions.

Authors :
Gulshan Mehra : Junior lecturer, GSSS Kamoda, Kurukshetra, Haryana, India
Rajeshwari : Professor, Department of Geography, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra, Haryana, India.
 

DOI: https://doi.org/10.32381/ATNAGI.2018.38.02.7