LAND SUITABILITY EVALUATION FOR MAJOR RAINFED CROPS AT EDO GOJOLA WATERSHED, CENTRAL RIFT VALLEY OF ETHIOPIA

Abstract

Nowadays declined natural resources alongside rapid population growth necessitate optimum use of scarce land resources based on their potentials. In this regard, land suitability evaluation which identifies the fitness of land for a defined use has no substitute. It is with this understanding that a study was proposed to evaluate the suitability of land at Edo Gojola watershed for major rainfed cereal crops wheat, maize, teff and sorghum. This study was aimed to identify suitability/limitation of the land and separately mapping all land mapping units for sustainable use of land resources. The factors that were considered for evaluation of the land suitability analysis for agricultural crops are Climatic variables like rainfall, minimum and maximum temperature, length of growing period, wind speed, sunshine hours, physical landscape/ soil characteristics, slope gradient and elevation, wetness, drainage and flooding, morphological, physical and chemical properties of soil. This activity was performed based on food and agriculture organization (FAO) guidelines using maximum limitation methods. The results of this study showed that all Land Mapping Units (LMUs) (LMU 1(39%), LMU 2 (29%) and LMU 3 (32%)) were marginally suitable (S3) for wheat and maize production as the low availability of nutrients in the soil and LMU 1 was classified as S3 for sorghum because of low rating of TN% and Av. P . Land Mapping Unit 3 is classified as currently not suitable(N1) for teff and sorghum with major constraints of soil texture and LMU 2 was also N1 for sorghum due to low rating of Av. P. Land Mapping Unit 1 and LMU 2 are classified as permanently not suitability for teff due to coarser texture. There were no LMUs that were classified as highly suitable or moderately suitable in the study area. Hence, farmers of the area should implement major land improvement practices to create optimum conditions for production of the major crops in the area or they should change for a land use type. From the findings of the study, it can be seen that farmers of the study area are cultivating crops for which the land is only marginally suitable (S3).