Assessment of land suitability for maize (Zea mays L) in semi-arid ecosystem of southern India using integrated AHP and GIS approach

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to assess the suitable areas for maize (Zea mays L) in semi-arid ecosystem of Mysuru district of Karnataka, Southern India using integrated Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Geographic Information System (GIS) approach. In the present study, the parameters of soil depth, length of growing period (LGP), soil surface texture, soil drainage, organic carbon (OC), soil pH, slope and elevation were used. AHP method was used to determine the weights of the parameters and scores of the sub-parameters in the study. The modeling capabilities of GIS were used in weighted overlay analysis of input parameters in assessment of land suitability for maize cultivation. The analysis indicates that about 29.9% (188439.4 ha) of the study area is highly suitable, 15.3% (96213.3 ha) is moderately suitable and 18.5% (116671.7 ha) is marginally suitable for maize cultivation. The study demonstrates that the integrated AHP and GIS approach found to be very effective to increase the accuracy in land suitability assessment. The gap analysis between the suitable areas derived from the study and actual mean maize growing area during 2015–16 to 2017–18, shows that about 23.2% (146370.4 ha) of highly suitable and 38.4% (242556.7 ha) of highly and moderately suitable areas together are available to expand the maize cultivation in the district.