Assessment of Land Suitability for Coconut Cultivation in Southern Karnataka, India

The assessment of land suitability for a specific use is a vital part of land use planning and agricultural development. The basic feature of land suitability evaluation is the comparison of the requirement of land uses with resources offered by the land. A study was conducted to evaluate the land suitability for coconut cultivation in southern Karnataka with a prime focus on increasing the productivity of coconut by way of promoting its cultivation in areas which show high and moderate suitability, and restricting at marginally suitable areas. For this seven soil pedons were selected on the map of coconut-growing areas, delineated with the help of land resource map and report of Karnataka state, generated at 1: 2,50,000 scale by ICAR-NBSS & LUP, Bangalore and were located at Krishnarajapete, Arasikere, Beltangadi, Brahmavara, Hosadurga, Turuvekere and Gubbi representing the density of coconut-growing areas in different agro-climatic zones. Land suitability was evaluated following FAO [1] guidelines. Land suitability assessment of major coconut-growing areas of southern Karnataka indicated that Krishnarajapete and Arasikere have moderately suitable lands with moderate limitations while others have marginally suitable lands with severe limitations for coconut cultivation.