Tropical Ecology 51(1): 41-54, 2010 ISSN 0564-3295

© International Society for Tropical Ecology

www.tropecol.com

A GIS-based land use suitability assessment in Seoni district, Madhya

Pradesh, India
*
S.V. BOBADE, B.P. BHASKAR , M.S. GAIKWAD, P. RAJA, S.S. GAIKWAD, S.G. ANANTWAR,
S.V. PATIL, S.R. SINGH & A.K. MAJI

National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning, Nagpur 440 010, India

Abstract: A land evaluation for agricultural planning in Seoni district was carried out
based on soil survey data within a geographical information system. The soil-based GIS data
was compiled and interpreted for land use suitability and fertility assessment. Maps of fertility
and land use suitability were generated from interpretative records. A suitability map for each
agricultural land use was developed by combining the climatic and soil site factors for each crop.
The land use suitability analysis indicated that 44% of land was non-arable and was found to be
suitable for silvipasture and wildlife conservation and 56% of land was arable, of which, 24%
was found to be suitable for sorghum-soybean and 15% for sorghum-cotton systems that can be
productive despite a deficiency of potassium and zinc. The remaining 18% area was
recommended for rice, citrus, maize, sunflower and vegetables. The mapping exercise was
carried out to identify land units with suitable crops and to suggest alternative practices, where
the current land use is suboptimal.

Resumen: Se llevó a cabo una evaluación del suelo para la planeación agrícola en el distrito
Seoni con base en datos de una investigación de suelos en un sistema de información geográfica.
Se compilaron los datos de suelo basados en el SIG y se interpretó su aptitud de uso de suelo y
la evaluación de su fertilidad. Se produjeron mapas de fertilidad y aptitud del uso del suelo a
partir de registros interpretativos. Se elaboró un mapa de aptitud para cada uso agrícola del
suelo por medio de la combinación de los factores de sitio climáticos y edáficos para cada cultivo.
El análisis de la aptitud del uso del suelo indicó que 44% de la tierra no tenía aptitud agrícola
sino que era adecuada para la silvicultura y el pastoreo, y para la conservación de la vida
silvestre, y que 56% de la tierra era cultivable, de la cual 24% era adecuada para el cultivo de
sorgo y soya, y 15% para sistemas de sorgo-algodón que pueden ser productivos a pesar de una
deficiencia de potasio y zinc. Para el 18% restante del área se recomendó el cultivo de arroz,
cítricos, maíz, girasol y verduras. Este ejercicio cartográfico tuvo por objeto identificar las
unidades terrestres con sus cultivos más adecuados y sugerir prácticas alternativas para
aquellos sitios donde el uso actual del suelo es subóptimo.

Resumo: Uma avaliação do solo para o planeamento da agricultura no distrito de Seoni foi
efectuada com base nos dados do inventário com um sistema de informação geográfico. Os dados
do solo baseados no SIG foram compilados e interpretados para a capacidade de uso do solo e
avaliação da fertilidade. Os mapas de fertilidade e de capacidade de uso foram gerados a partir
de registos interpretativos. Um mapa para cada uso adequado de solo agrícola foi desenvolvido
pela combinação dos factores de clima e solo para cada cultura. A análise da capacidade de uso
do solo indicou que 44% do solo não era arável mas era satisfatório para a silvo-pastorícia e
conservação do bravio e 56% era arável , dos quais 24% eram bons para sorgo-soja e 15% para
sistemas sorgo-algodão e que podem ser produtivos não obstante uma deficiência em potássio e
zinco. Os restantes 18% eram recomendáveis para arroz, citrinos, milho, girassol e hortícolas. O
exercício de mapeamento foi levado a feito para identificar as unidades de solo para a melhor

* Corresponding Author; e-mail: bhaskar_phaneedra@yahoo.co.in

42 LAND USE SUITABILITY ASSESSMENT
afectação de culturas e para sugerir praticas alternativas, onde o uso do solo se encontrava sub-
optimizado.
Key words: Conservation planning, fertility, GIS, land use suitability, soil mapping
unit.
Introduction
The land use planning involves making
knowledgeable decisions about land use and the
environment. Soil information is a vital component
in the planning process, reflecting directly upon
land-use suitability (Coleman & Galbraith 2000).
The utility of soil–land resource information for
proper agricultural land use was proposed by
Dumanski et al. (1987). The land evaluation system
of FAO (1983) was based on land qualities as
related to individual crops that was used to
develop the crop requirements based on experi-
ences in tropical areas (Sys et al. 1993). This land
evaluation system for land use was earlier
adopted to derive land suitability map in western
parts of Maharashtra (Bhattacharyya et al. 1992)
and in Nera watershed of Himachal Pradesh
(Murthy et al. 1984). Advanced techniques have
been made recently towards extraordinary digital
systems for utilization in land-use planning.
Computer program, that includes decision support
systems (models) and Geographic Information
Systems (GIS) have contributed to the speed and
efficiency of overall planning process.
Quick and efficient access to large amount of
information was enabled by GIS, exhibiting
relationships, patterns, and trends (ESRI 1999)
that are useful in combining soil survey
information to monitor land use changes (Stout &
Lee 2004; Wu et al. 2001). Application of GIS in
Land Use Planning was well documented
(Kushwaha et al. 1996; Maji et al. 1998, 2001,
Salem et al. 2008). Soil survey database could be
used to estimate soil characteristics based on
known relationship to other soil physical and
chemical properties (Brubaker et al. 1993) and also
to improve fertilizer recommendations on the basis
of soil test values (Seok et al. 1999). Of late,
advanced land evaluation techniques have been
found useful in addressing soil fertility constraints
and management problems in the areas of low
productivity (Hong & Park 1999). In some of such
areas, that are inhabited by tribal farming
communities, crop failures were experienced
frequently due to traditional agricultural practices.
These areas should be given priorities for improved
crop planning and agricultural development.
Therefore, the study is aimed at using GIS for the
integration of soil survey data to assess land use
suitability to enhance land allocation processes for
agricultural usage in Seoni, a tribal district of
Madhya Pradesh.
Materials and methods
Study area
Seoni district is one of the southern districts of
Madhya Pradesh and spread over 8,752 km2 area.
About 90% of total population of 1,166,608 (as per
2001 census) is tribal. The district (21° 35' - 22° 58'
N and 79o 12' - 81° 18' E) is bordered by Jabalpur,
Narsinghpur and Mandla districts in the north,
Balaghat in the east, Chhindwara in the west and
Nagpur district of Maharashtra in the south (Fig.
1). The geology of the district comprises of Tirodi
Biotite Gneiss (TBG), Quartzite, Mica Schist of
Supracrustal Sausar Group - (SSG), Calc Silicate
rocks of Lohangi series, Muscovite-Biotite schist of
Mansaur series, Quartzite, Quartz-Muscovite schist
of Charbaoli series and Crystalline Limestone and
Dolomite of Bichua series (GSI 2002) in the
southeastern parts, whereas, remaining part of the
district was covered by Deccan Traps with sporadic
occurrence of lameta, intertrappean beds, laterite
cappings and Meso-Proterozoic to recent alluvium.
The area forms part of the Narmada river system,
that occupies about 25% of the area in the north of
the district and the Wainganga river system
occupying about 75% of the area in the south. The
area experiences a tropical monsoon climate with
ustic soil moisture and hyperthermic soil
temperature regime. The mean annual rainfall
(MAR) recorded was 1385 mm, of which about 85%
was received during June to September. A detailed
note on soils, landforms, land capability, cropping
 BOBADE et al.
Fig. 1. Location of Seoni district.
systems and degradation status at state level was
reported by Tamgadge et al. (1999) and Tamgadge
et al. (1999a, b & c). About 75% of the area in the
district is covered by forest of teak and bamboo.
The major forest belt runs from east to west along
the Satpura hill ranges and north to south along
the foot hills near the Seoni town. The district has
a net sown area of 364,502 ha, of which 281,255 ha
was under kharif (wet season) and 179,215 ha was
under rabi (dry season). About 95,968 ha area was
double cropped with irrigation potential of 35%
(District Statistical Report 2003).
Methods
A geo-pedological approach (Zinck 1988) was
applied for the local physiographic analysis. This
approach was used to cover large areas rapidly by
establishing relationships between landforms and
soils. The landform map was generated as
per standard procedures (USDA 1995), that has
43
fourteen landforms over basaltic and granitic
landscapes of the district on 1:50,000 scale
covering twenty-one topographical maps of Survey
of India. The soil profiles were morphometrically
examined and soils were classified up to subgroup
level described by USDA (1998). Soil series were
described and used mainly for practical purposes
(Sohan Lal et al. 1994). The approach for the
correlation of soil series in the field was done as
described by Reddy (2006). The paradigm of the
study is illustrated in Fig. 2. The soil information
system constituted a set of files in GIS under a
relational database management system. The
spatial soil data were generated by digitizing
1:50,000 scale Survey of India topographical maps
using ARC/INFO. The topology of each polygon
was built and all spatial datasets had polyconic
projection. The land use plan was prepared from
thematic maps with the land capability
classification (Klingebiel & Montgomery 1961),
land suitability (FAO 1976; Sys et al. 1991) and
44 LAND USE SUITABILITY ASSESSMENT

Soil Survey

Physiography-Soil Database

Non-Arable Arable Fertility Capability

Agricultural Information Theory, Crop Calendar, Cropping Intensity,

Current Land Use, Irrigation/Water Sources, Agricultural Population
& Forestry-Wildlife Criteria

Spatial Data Integration in GIS

Land Suitability

Forestry, Silvipasture & Wildlife Rice-wheat, Soybean-Sorghum

Conservation & Wheat-Sorghum

Fig. 2. Approach of this study.

the fertility capability classification (Sanchez et al. Results and discussion

1982).
A system approach was used to classify and
map the landscapes by studying the expressions of
landscape structures and anthropogenic activities.
The survey and mapping of landscapes has four
important aspects such as determination of
landscape potentialities, determination of suitability
of landscapes for different land uses and the
conflicts of demands in time and space,
characterization of current natural and anthropo-
genic stresses and their capacity to resist the
stress, spatial and temporal availability of land for
use as limited by natural conditions, their spatial
structures and existing land use pattern (Hasse
1989). The district was divided into five
physiographic units viz., Lakhnadon plateau,
upper Wainganga valley, the Sagar and Hirvi river
valley, the lower Wainganga valley and the
Southern lowland.
Landforms
The total area and the basic structure of
landforms were defined by general normative
elements (Table 1). The fourteen landforms were
delineated (Fig. 3) and the area under each
landform was estimated as (i) structural plateaus
(26,968 ha), (ii) middle level plateaus (71,595 ha),
(iii) narrow inter-hill basin (81,458 ha), (iv)
structural hills and ridges (152,668 ha), (v)
undulating plateaus (60,022 ha), (vi) rolling
pediplains (58,547 ha), (vii & viii) upper and lower
denudational plateaus (325,962 ha), (ix) steeply
sloping denudational escarpments (17,973 ha), (x,
xi, xiii and xiv) valleys, broad inter-hill basins,
gently sloping plains and ridges (79,535 ha) and
(xii) isolated hillocks (1,074 ha). Similar types of
land forms were reported in basaltic terrain
of central India by Reddy et al. (2004) and used
 BOBADE et al. 45

Table 1. Types and extent of landforms in Seoni district.

Types of Landforms Area (ha)
Structural plateaus: High drainage density and severely eroded steep land with slopes of 3 to 8%. This is 26968
widely occurring in Lakhanadon plateau at an elevation of 700m and above. (3.1)
Middle level plateaus: This unit is moderately eroded, moderately sloping lands (8-15%) between 500 and 71595
700m and cultivated for wheat, rice, sugar cane, mustard but at few places, vegetables are grown. (8.2)
Narrow inter-hill basins: mostly occurs in Ghansur, Kahani, and Hiran sub-basins of the Sher and Hiren 81458
rivers. (9.3)
Structural hills and ridges: Linear continuous features with rock outcrops, steep stony lands, sparse 152668
forest cover and the ridges running east-west wards with rock sheets. (17.4)
Undulating plateaus: Located in western part at an elevation of 300 to 400 m, severely eroded, highly 60022
dissected, 30% of surface area covered by stones. (6.9)
Rolling pediplains: Mostly occurs between 600 and 700m elevation towards Mohgaon to Barjhkar, 58547
moderate erosion with gentle slopes running east-west, has mostly 2nd order streams. (6.7)
Upper denudational plateaus: Isolated hillocks, erosional pediment surfaces, dissected 1st order streams 170451
on flat plateau tops with 50% surface stones, thin forest cover, concentrated in south-west, cultivation in (19.5)
patches between 500 and 600 m.
Lower denudational plateaus: Barren rocky surface covered with open thin forest cover, cultivation in 155511
patches, highly dissected and moderately eroded. (17.8)
Steeply sloping denudational escarpments: Steeply sloping escarpments (30-50% slopes), severely eroded, 17973
highly dissected, surface stoniness is >50%. (2.1)
Valleys: Flat, gently sloping (3-8%), strongly associated with river systems of Wainganga of upper and 14675
lower reaches, mostly under double cropping (rice, wheat and soybean). (1.3)
Broad inter-hill basins: On plateaus with gentle slopes, slight erosion, intensively cultivated, occurs in 2526
small areas. (0.3)
Isolated hillocks: Granitic landscapes, mostly covered with stones and rock outcrops, thinly vegetated, 1074
mainly used for stone quarrying. (1.2)
Gently sloping flood plains: Common in southern lowlands with slopes of 3 to 8%, mostly under 60822
cultivation of wheat, red gram and soybean. (7.0)
Ridges: Continuous, residual forms of hills with linear feature, covered mostly with stones and rocks used 1512
for quarrying stones. (0.2)
(Values in parenthesis indicate the percentage)

for land evaluation schemes. Different strategies
could be formulated in land use planning based
on the different landscape elements described.
Soil map
The spatial distribution of soils was presented
(Fig. 4) and the soil mapping units were designed
as soil series association with their symbols. The
soil mapping units in the northern plateaus are of
Parasia (Pc)-Pipariya (Pr)-Khamariya (Ky) soil
series association in Lakhnadon plateau occupied
11.6% of total geographical area (TGA). The soils
of these series are very shallow, well drained,
sandy clay loam texture and were cultivated for
sorghum and redgram. About 10.4% of TGA was
covered by Sagar (Sa)–Paddikona (Pd)–Khamariya
(Ky)–Parasia (Pc) series, that are mostly under
lower denudational plateaus. The soils of these
series are moderately deep to very deep, clay in
texture and were cultivated for paddy and
soybean. The dominant soil mapping units in
southern lowlands of hills and ridges were Sukla
(Sk)-Jamunola (Jm)-Rukhad (Rk) covering 7.5% of
TGA with loamy sand to sandy loam textured soils,
mostly covered by teak forest. These land units are
frequently covered with thick forest vegetation and
support the tiger habitat in the Pench reserve
forest area.
About 4.8% of the TGA was covered by Parasia
(Pc), Paddikona (Pd) and Khamariya (Ky) mapping
units, that are shallow to very shallow clay soil
associations, concentrated in the northern plateaus
of Seoni district, and are mostly covered with
pastures and only scanty area was cultivated for
millets. About 16.4% of the TGA was on lower
denudation plateaus and interhill basins, that are
concentrated on northern and central part of the
district, consisting of mapping units such as
Arandiya (Ar), Kharsaru (Kh), Bhimgarh (Bg),
Nadora (Nd), Silghat (Si), Atari (At) and Chuui
(Cu), Dhenka (Dk), Paddikona (Pd), Sagar (Sa),
Jamunpani(Jp), Chunamati (Ch) and Parasia (Pa),
46 LAND USE SUITABILITY ASSESSMENT

Fig. 3. Landform map of Seoni district.

Khamariya (Ky), Gorakhpur (Go) and Lakhnadon
(Lk). The soils of these associations were mostly
clayey, deep to very deep and poorly to moderately
well-drained.
Soils over structural hills, escarpments and
severely eroded plateau tops are very shallow
(<10 cm) to shallow (25-50 cm), somewhat
excessively drained, sandy clay loam to clay loam
texture and are mainly cultivated for millets and
kondon kutki (a staple food in the form of pej). The
mapping units are Khamariya (Ky), Atari (At),
Parasia (Pc), Nadora (Nd), Sagar (Sa), Dhora (Dh)
and Lakhnadon (Lk), Pipariya (Pr), that covers
16.9% of area, mostly concentrated in central
Wainganga, Sagar and Hirvi valley. The soil
associations in southern lowlands under forest
have sandy clay loam to clay texture, well drained,
and shallow to deep soils covering 14.7% of the
area. The mapping units are Kanera (Kn), Bisapur
(Bs) and Jamuntola (Jm), Khawasa (Kw), Sukla
(Sk), Tarali (Ta), Lungsa (Lu) and Lakhnadon (Lk)
and Dhora (Dh)-Sukla (Sk), Prattappur (Pt).
Fertility characteristics
Eight units of fertility capability (Fig. 5) were
derived and were defined in the combinations of
type, substrata type and modifiers (Sanchez et al.
1982). The fertility capability classification (FCC)
of basaltic soils have showed that these soils has
clay surface texture with low infiltration, good
 BOBADE et al. 47

Source : Tamgadage et al. (2008)

Fig. 4. Soil map of Seoni district.

48 LAND USE SUITABILITY ASSESSMENT

Fig. 5. Fertility capability classification of soil units.

 BOBADE et al. 49

water holding capacity, high shrink-swell potential
and were highly productive. The FCC class for
these soils was defined as CCvdb. Certain
characteristics were particularly important
in determining capabilities of various soil series
holding capacity, low K supply and 15-35% gravels
were defined as SSr+bk. The spatial distribution of
units were in the ascending order viz., LRdik
(6.1%) > CCvdik (7.3%) > CCRdv (9.7%) > LLdk
(16.6%) > CCvdb (38.7%).

Table 2. Soil mapping units based on NPK status.

Rating
Soil Mapping Unit Area (ha) (%)
N P K
Low Low Low Sukla (Sk)-Jamuntola-Bisapur(Bs)(20) 50489 5.8
Low Low Medium Parasia (Pc)-Paddikona (Pd)-Khamariya 352620 40.3
(Ky)(1),Parasia-Pipariya(Pr)-Khamariya (2),Sagar-
Paddikona-Khamariya(3),Khamariya-Atari-Parasia
(5), Silghat(Si)-Atari-Chhui(Cu)(12),Kharsaru-
Gorakhpur- Lakhnadon(17) and Sagar-Atari-
Lungsa(19)
Low Low Low- Parasia-Masanbarra (Ma)-Khamariya(18), Khawasa- 78110 8.9
medium Sukla-Tarali(27)
Low Low Medium- Atari-Parasia-Bhimgarh (4),Pipariya-Sagar- 110708 12.6
High Jamunpani (8), Atari(At)-Lungsa-Kharsaru(11),
Dhenka-Paddikona-Kharsaru(13), Sagar-Bhimgarh
(Bg)-Dhenka (Dk)(14), Kharsaru-Jamunpani (Jp)-
Chunamati (Ch)-Parasia (15), Bhimgarh-Khamariya-
Atari (16)
Low Low- Low- Lakhnadon-Pipariya-Sagar (7), Khawasa-Lungsa 90160 10.3
Medium Medium (Lu)-Lakhnadon(Lk) (29), Dhora-Sukla-Prattappur
(30)
Low Low-High Medium- Gorakhpur (GO)-Sagar-Paddikona (9), Sukla- 67506 7.7
High Jamuntola-Rukhad (25)
Low- Low- Low-High Prattappur (Pt)-Gondatola-Khawasa-Rukhad (24) 13303 1.5
Medium Medium
Low- Low Low-High Nadora (Nd)-Sagar (Sa)—Dhora (Dh)(6), Kodajhiri 83772 9.6
Medium (Ko)- Khawasa (Kw)-Sukla (Sk) (21), Dhenka-Sukla-
Khawasa-Nadora (22), Tarali (Ta)-Kodajhiri-
Jamuntola (Jm)(28)
Low Medium Medium Jamuntola (Jm)-Gondatola (Gl)-Kharsaru (Kh)- 28674 3.3
Rukhad (Rk)(23),Kanera (Kn)-Bisapur (Bs)-
Jamuntola (26)
Low Low-High Low-High Arandiya (Ar)-Kharsaru (Kh)-Bhimgarh-Nadora (10) 345 0.04
* Available N (kg/ha) : Low = < 275; Medium= 275-550; High= > 550.
Available P2O5 (kg/ha) : Low = < 34; Medium= 34-61; High= > 61 .
Available K2O (kg/ha) : Low = < 137; Medium= 137-275; High= > 275. (Sehgal 1986)

(Table 2). The modifiers and symbols that were
used such as root-restricting hard substrata (R),
low K reserves (k) and high P fixation in
Khamariya series, r+ for 15-35% gravel by volume
in Dhora series, v for severe topsoil swelling and
shrinking in Gorakhpur series. The FCC unit of
loamy textured surface soils in granitic landforms
(Kanera, Arandiya, Jamuntola and Pipariya
series) with root restricting hard substrata, that
was defined as LRd, whereas, in Bisapur and
Rukhad series with sandy top soil, with low water
The availability of NPK
Soils were grouped into three fertility classes
based on level of acceptance of critical limits
(Benton Jones 2001). Group 1 soils (Gondatola
series) have low N, P, K and Zn status. Group 2
soils (Prattappur & Chunamati series) have
medium K status and lower amount of N, P, Fe
and Zn. The Group 3 Aradiya series have high
K and low in N, P and Zn status. The NPK status
in the soils (Table 2 & Fig. 6) have showed that
40.3% of soils in northern Lakhnadon plateau have
50 LAND USE SUITABILITY ASSESSMENT

low available nitrogen (< 275 kg ha-1), low
phosphorus (< 34 kg ha-1) and medium available
potassium (138-275 kg ha-1), whereas, soils in
southern lowlands have low nitrogen, low or high
(> 61 kg ha-1) phosphorus and medium to high
(> 275 kg ha-1) available potassium contents. The
soils in upper Wainganga valley have low nitrogen,
phosphorus and medium to high available potassium
contents (Sehgal 1986).
Land use alternatives
Land capability classes were generally used for
land use assessment, determine erodible areas and
to review land use potentials. The land capability
analysis showed that district has 44% non-arable
and 56% (TGA) arable land, respectively. The non-
arable lands were identified as having steep
slopes, very shallow and strongly stony soils that

Fig. 6. NPK status of soil.

 BOBADE et al. 51

Fig. 7. Proposed land use plan.

make cultivation impossible. The non-arable
portion concentrated in upper ridges of Lakhnadon
plateau (45%) was evaluated for forestry and
wildlife conservation as per the criteria of land
capability classification (Klingebiel & Montgomery
1961). Thirty-eight percent of land was suitable for
silvipasture and remaining 7% of TGA was
suitable for wildlife conservation. The spatial
distribution and details of 11 land use units are
depicted in Fig. 7 and Table 3.
About 41% of the TGA was covered by the class III,
arable classes with erosion and depth limitations,
which make this land moderately cultivable that
requires careful selection of crops adapted to soil
depth, slope and stoniness. About 15% (TGA) of
the area was covered by the class IV soils, which
are fairly suitable for occasional or limited
cultivation. The soil-site suitability analysis of the
arable land has indicated that 12% of TGA was
suitable for rice - wheat cropping system, 24% for
sorghum-soybean, 15.3% for sorghum-cotton and
24% of TGA was suitable for citrus. The soil-site
52 LAND USE SUITABILITY ASSESSMENT

Table 3. Land use plan based on soil-site suitability and land capability.

Soil Mapping Units Land Suitablity Area (ha) %

Sk-Jm-Rk(25), Kw-Sk-Ta(27), Ta-Ko-Jm(28) Soybean-Sorghum-Cotton-Maize- 129347 4.8
Vegetables
Sa-Pd-Ky-Pc(3) Rice-Wheat-Soybean-Sunflower-Sorghum 93841 10.7
Go-Sa-Pd(9), Bg-Ky-At(16), Sa-At-Lu(19) Rice-Wheat-Soybean-Citrus-Maize- 10090 1.2
Sunflower
Dk-Pd-Kh(13), Kh-Jp-Ch-Pc(15), Kh-Go-Lk(17) Sorghum-Cotton 83953 9.6
At-Pc-Bg(4), At-Lu-Kh(11), Kw-Lu-Lk(29) Sorghum-Cotton-Citrus-Maize 79885 9.1
Na-Sa-Dh(6), Pr-Sa-Jb(8), Si-At-Cu(12), Jm-Gl- Wheat-Soybean-Sorghum-Cotton-Citrus- 38013 4.3
Kh-Rk(23) Maize
Sa-Bg-Dh(14) Soybean-Sorghum 13213 1.5
Ar-Kh-Bg-Nd(10), Ko-Kw-Sk(21), Pt-Gl-Kw- Soybean-Sorghum-Cotton-Citrus-Maize 39447 4.5
Rk(24)
Pc-Pd-Ky(1), Pc-Pr-Ky(2), Ky-At-Pc-Roc(5), Kn- Silvipasture 234961 26.8
Bs-Jm-Roc(26)
Lk-Pr-Sa-Lu(7), Pc-Ma-Ky-Roc(18), Sk-Jm-Bs-(20) Fairly well-suited for silvipasture 98042 11.2

Dh-Sk-Kw-Nd(20), Dh-Sk-Pt(30) Suitable for wildlife conservation 59656 6.8

characteristics such as climate, slope, erosion,
flooding, drainage, texture/structure, coarse
fragments, depth, calcium carbonate/gypsum
content, apparent cation exchange capacity, base
saturation, sum of basic cations, pH, organic
carbon content, and exchangeable sodium
percentage, that were used in the land evaluation
of different crops by Sys et al. (1991).
The agro-climate of Seoni is characterized by
hot moist sub-humid with an annual rainfall of
1100 to 1500 mm and mean annual temperature of
24 to 25 °C. The length of growing period (LGP) is
180 to 210 days with three months of humid period
(July-August-September) and had residual soil
moisture that was used by crops until January
(Velayutham et al. 1999). The suitability of soils
to crops was evaluated and described.
Moderately deep, moderately well drained, sandy
loam to sandy clay loam textured, slightly acid
with low available N and K soils are suitable for
sorghum and moderately suitable for wheat,
soybean and citrus. These soils are mostly
concentrated in southern lowlands of the district
with soil series of Arandiya (Ar), Bisapur (Bs),
Chunamati (Ch), Dhenka (Dh) and Gondatola (Go),
Jamunpani (Jm) Prattappur (Pr) and Khawasa
(Kw).
Very shallow, clay textured, stony soils with
root restricting hard layers, slightly acid and low
NPK status were classified as non-arable lands
and occur mostly on escarpments and plateau tops
in the district. The soil, of Dhora, Kanera,
Lakhnadon, Parasia and Pipariya series have
shallow, slightly acid to slightly alkaline, clayey
surface texture and were evaluated as moderately
suitable for soybean, citrus and maize. They are
arable lands with severe limitations of steep slopes
and stoniness. These soils (Gorakhpur, Khamariya
and Kharsaru series) were mostly associated with
moderately deep, well drained Masanbarra and
Kodajhiri series which were not suitable for
cultivation. The Nadora and Paddikona series
occurring on valleys and inter-hill basins were
moderately well drained, moderately deep, clay
textured, high shrink-swell potentials and slightly
alkaline in reaction. These soils were suitable for
the cultivation of wheat, soybean, cotton and
sorghum.
The current land use in the district is sub-
optimal with a net sown area of 374,000 ha,
wherein, food crops account for 84% of the total
cropped area. The acreage under the principal food
crops are rice (87,700 ha), wheat (86,700 ha), jowar
(14,700 ha), maize (6,700 ha), kodon kutki (53,700
ha), Bengal gram (27,600 ha), black gram (21,900)
and pigeon pea (6,200 ha). The productivity of
these crops in kg/ha was 1,242 for rice, 449 for
wheat, 623 for jowar, 984 for maize, 183 for kodon
kutki, 596 for Bengal gram, 239 for black gram
and 1,260 for pigeon pea (District Statistical
 BOBADE et al.
Report 2003). These average productivities of crops
were below the national average yield. Therefore,
the plan was proposed, based on land resource
data that minimizes the expansion of area on
marginal lands under paddy and replacing the
areas cultivated for kodon kutki (a non-
remunerative food crop) by diversified crops like
soybean, cotton, wheat and maize. There is a vast
scope to replace the area cultivated for sun hemp
(31,000 ha), sesamum (8,200 ha) and kodon kutki
(53,700 ha) in the district (Guru 1989).
Conclusions
The land resource data, that have been
generated, could be integrated through GIS
techniques for efficient crop planning at district
level. The land units that were under citrus and
soybean have been identified as a potential area
for crop diversification in the Seoni district. The
fertility capability classification (FCC) units and
available NPK status zones that were delineated
could be used for linking crop response studies
with integrated nutrient management for various
cropping systems in the district for land evaluation
programmes.
Acknowledgements
The authors express their gratitude to Dr.
S.P.S. Kushwaha, Head, Forestry and Ecology
Division, IIRS, Dehradun and Dr. Skip J. Van
Bloem, Department of Agro-Environmental Scien-
ces, University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez, USA, for
critical reviews and for many useful suggestions.
Authors thank Mrs. Ujwala Tijare, NBSS & LUP,
Nagpur, for map data processing in GIS.
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