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International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, Volume 4, Issue 3, March 2014 1 ISSN 2250-3153 Land Suitability Analysis for Sustainable Agricultural Land Use Planning in Bulandshahr District of Uttar Pradesh Dr. Mohammad Shah Nawaz Khan1, Prof. Mohd. Mazhar Ali Khan2 * PH.D from, Department of Geography, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India. ** Professor, Department of Geography, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India. Abstract- Bulandshahr district is characterised by six soil series requirements and soil/land characteristics. Matching the land depending upon their physio-chemical properties. These soil characteristics with the crop requirements provides suitability. series are Ganga Khadar Soil Series, Manpur Soil Series, Senta So, “suitability is a measure of how well the qualities of a land Soil Series, Kota Soil Series, Aulera Soil Series and Ajeetpur unit match the requirements of a particular form of land use” Soil Series. In Bulandshahr district an attempt has been made to (FAO, 1976). Land suitability classification aims at evaluating find out the suitability of major crops based on existing climatic and classifying land units on the basis of specific land and soil and soil-site database. Land suitability is a function of crop features and their limitations. requirement and land/soil characteristics. It is a prerequisite for Soil-site suitability studies provide information on the choice sustainable agricultural practices. It involves evaluation of the of crops to be grown on best suited soil units for maximizing the factors like climate, terrain, soil etc. Matching the land crop production per unit of land, labour and inputs. The land characteristics with the crop requirements provides suitability suitability for a defined use and the impact of that use on the index in the form of ranks. It involves the evaluation and environment is determined by land conditions and land qualities. grouping of specific areas of land in terms of their suitability for The sustainable land use depends on soil resilience that is the defined agricultural use. The quality of land categories are rated balance between soil restorative and soil degradation processes. as S1 (highly suitable), S2 (moderately suitable), S3 (marginally Ecologically every factor of environment exerts directly or suitable) and N1 (not suitable, but potentially suitable; indirectly a specific affect on growth and development of the uneconomical for use) that refers to the effects of the individual plants. However, it varies from habitat to habitat and determines land qualities on production of the crop (Sehgal, 2000). The crop the suitability of a plant to any particular environment. For land-use requirements are matched with the land qualities for planning and effective utilization of soil resources, the each of the soil series in Bulandshahr district and the final land- information relating to the soil-site characteristics for cultivation suitability maps for the major selected crops are made. of crops is necessary (Naidu, 2006). In order to follow the principles of sustainable agriculture one has to grow the crops Index Terms- land suitability, Bulandshahr, soil series, land use. where they suit best and for which first and the foremost requirement is to carry out land suitability analysis (Ahamed et al. 2000). I. INTRODUCTION The natural resources like soil and water and associated and is one of the most important natural resources, and climatic features deeply influence the cropping pattern and crop Lmaintaining it in good health, is very much needed for productivity in specified areas. Each plant species requires meeting out the increasing demand for food, fibre, fodder and definite soil and site conditions for its optimum growth. Since the fuel. It assumes greater significance in present situation wherein availability of both water and plant nutrients is largely controlled the scope for further extension of cultivation is very limited. It is by the physico-chemical properties and micro environment of the necessary to select the judicious crops for cultivation according soils, therefore, the success and failure of cropping any plant to the soil suitability, so that maximum profit may be achieved species, in a particular area, is largely determined by these while maintaining the ecological sustainability. factors (Sehgal, 2000). The crop land use planning involves making knowledgeable decisions about land use and the environment. Soil information is Objectives a vital component in the planning process, reflecting directly The main objective of this study is to carry out the land upon land-use suitability (Coleman & Galbraith 2000). The Land suitability analysis for major crops in Bulandshahr district and to suitability is the process of assessing the suitability or ability of a map out the results as well as to find out the deviations in given type of land. Land suitability classification process is the agricultural practices from the optimum suitability of soils at evaluation and grouping of specific areas of land in terms of their block level in Bulandshahr district. suitability for defined agricultural use. Land suitability analysis is a prerequisite for sustainable Study area agricultural practices. It involves evaluation of the factors like Bulandshahr District is a part of the Ganga Yamuna Doab climate, terrain, soil etc. Land suitability is a function of crop lying in western Uttar Pradesh. Its geographical coordinates vary between 28º 04’ N and 28º45’ N latitudes and 77º 35’ E and 78º www.ijsrp.org International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, Volume 4, Issue 3, March 2014 2 ISSN 2250-3153 30’ E longitudes. It is bounded by the districts of Hapur and vegetables, generally there are three harvests, the kharif, the rabi Ghaziabad in the north, Aligarh in the south, Amroha and and the zaid. The zaid is relatively of little significance. Badaun in the east, and Gautam Budh Nagar in the west. River Bulandshahr district is characterised by six soil series Ganga forms a natural boundary between Bulandshahr as well as depending upon their physio-chemical properties. These soil Badaun and Amroha districts. It covers a total area of 3,719 km2 series are Ganga Khadar Soil Series, Manpur Soil Series, Senta (Fig. 1.1). Soil Series, Kota Soil Series, Aulera Soil Series and Ajeetpur The district is a level plain with variations of some uneven Soil Series. A soil series name generally is derived from a town lands on the banks of rivers. The whole of the district being or a landmark in or near the area where the soil series was first formed of the Gangetic plain. However, the area is covered by recognized (Simonson, 1952). Soil series is a group of soils with alluvium of Quaternary age. The only mineral of any importance similar profiles developed from similar parent materials under in the district is kankar. It experiences the sub-humid monsoon comparable climatic and vegetational conditions. The Figure 1.2 climate (Singh, 1971), that is why the district is rich in shows the soil series map of Bulandshahr district. agricultural land, and produces many crops; fruits and Location of Bulandshahr District Fig. 1.1 www.ijsrp.org International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, Volume 4, Issue 3, March 2014 3 ISSN 2250-3153 Fig. 1.2 chemical properties of the land as well as climatic factors are the II. DATABASE AND METHODOLOGY major determinants for crop suitability of a given land. The To carry out the land suitability analysis, the data about the physical land properties of the study area are evaluated, including production and acreage of selected crops is taken for the year the soil texture, drainage, and soil depth. The slope of the land is 2007-08 from district Sankhiyiki Patrika of Bulandshahr district. also considered. Climate (Temperature and Rainfall) of the study The soil series data taken from the soil report of National area is also used for crop suitability analysis. The chemical Informatic Centre (NIC). The requirements for each crop were properties of soil like pH (negative log of hydrogen ion obtained from National Beureou of Soil Survey and Land Use concentration), CEC (cation exchange capacity), EC (electrical planning (NBSS & LUP) and Indian Council of Agricultural conductivity) and ESP (exchangeable sodium percentage) are Research (ICAR) publications (Naidu 2006), (Ramesh 2002), also taken for soil site suitability analysis. Sehgal (1996); the land characteristics were obtained from soil Land suitability index in the form of ranks as a function of survey reports. The land use land cover map was prepared from crop requirement and land characteristics involving the the Landsat TM data 2009. The overlay analysis of land use land evaluation and grouping of specific areas of land in terms of their cover map 2009 and soil series map of all the sixteen blocks of suitability for defined agricultural use are worked out. The flow the district Bulandshahr was carried out in GIS environment chart given below (Fig. 1.3) exhibits the land categories of ‘S1’ using Arc GIS 9.3 and finally the soil suitability map of highly suitable (with slight limitations), ‘S2’ moderately suitable agricultural land was generated. Field survey was done for cross (with moderate limitations), ‘S3’ marginally suitable (with severe verification for the existing land use pattern in diffrent soil series. limitations), ‘N1’ almost unsuitable (not suitable currently) (FAO Land suitability classification method proposed by FAO (1976) 1976). is applied to delineate soil suitability classes. Physical and www.ijsrp.org International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, Volume 4, Issue 3, March 2014 4 ISSN 2250-3153 Soil Suitability Criteria Temperature Climate Rainfall S1 Texture Soil Physical Drainage S2 Properties Depth Soil-Site Suitability pH S3 Soil CEC Chemical Properties EC N1 ESP Erosion Slope Hazard Fig. 1.3 uneconomical for use) that refer to the effects of the individual III. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS land qualities on production of the crop (Sehgal, 2000). The crop For the purpose of analysing soil-site suitability, nine major land-use requirements and land qualities were matched for each crops viz.

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