Evaluation of soil suitability for sugarcane in the State of Punjab – a case study
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Authors
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Ritu Nagdev
ICAR-National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning, Regional Centre Delhi, IARI Campus, 110 012, New Delhi
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R.K. Meena
ICAR-National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning, Regional Centre Delhi, IARI Campus, 110 012, New Delhi
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Ashok Kumar
ICAR-National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning, Regional Centre Delhi, IARI Campus, 110 012, New Delhi
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Vikas Joon
ICAR-National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning, Regional Centre Delhi, IARI Campus, 110 012, New Delhi
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Jaya N. Surya
ICAR-National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning, Regional Centre Delhi, IARI Campus, 110 012, New Delhi
Keywords:
Soil-site suitability, soil resources, sugarcane, sustainable productionAbstract
Agriculture accounts for a significant share of the country’s GDP and is a major source of income for millions of rural households. Cash crops play a crucial role in enhancing farm incomes and supporting overall economic growth. Among the cash crops, sugarcane is one of the important cash crops in India. In Punjab the natural resources are diminishing due to dominant rice-wheat based cropping system. Therefore, some alternate crops are need of time. Hence the present study was conducted to study the soil resources of Punjab for assessing the soil suitability for cultivation of sugarcane. The obtained results revealed that a 44.62% area is suitable for cultivation of sugarcane followed by 39.69% area revealed moderate suitability and 1.68% area revealed marginal suitability. Considering the results of study it can be concluded that the sugarcane crop is a promising alternate land use option for the local farmers in Rajpura block of Patiala district of Punjab.
