Integrated Approach of Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systemfor a Case Study of Lime in Northern Dry Zone of Karnataka

The soil and land resource inventory at village, as basic unit, are providing baseline data on soils, their constraints and potentials for crop production. Considering this fact, Ramtirth Tanda-4 Micro-watershed which is located in between 16°57'0" to 16°59'0“ North latitudes and 75°51'30" to 75°53'0" East longitudes, covering an area of about 677.48 ha was selected for the case study. The database was generated by using cadastral map of the village as a base along with high resolution satellite imagery (IRS LISS IV and Cartosat-1). The soil series Babaleshwar (BBL), Halagani (HLG) and Jumanal (JML) were mapped into 6 mapping units using GIS techniques. The soil series Babaleshwar (clay soils, very deep (>150cm) and moderately eroded with 15-35% gravel), Halagani (clay soils, 100-150 cm deep with moderately eroded), Jumanal (clay soils, 100-150 cm deep, moderately eroded with 15-35% gravelliness). The baseline resource data are useful for deriving soil-landscape relationships in basaltic terrain at village and forms the basis for upgrading management packages for sustainable crop production at farm level. The capability maps generated from information collected through field work and topographical maps for Ramtirth Tanda-4 micro-watershed area shows that all the study area belong to arable lands and fit for cultivation. The assessment of Ramtirth Tanda-4 micro-watershed area for growing of horticultural crops like banana, grapes and pomegranate, onion, brinjal, chilli, tomato, papaya, sapota, guava, lime and ber. Crops such as mango, pomegranate, papaya, onion, banana, chilli, tomato, sapota and lime shows that the soils were moderately suitable (S2) with moderate to severe limitations of depth, texture and gravelliness. Mapping units were marginally (S3) to not suitable for ber, grapes, and guava with limitations of texture and gravelliness. Hence the study area could be potentially used for growing above mentioned horticulture crops. Thus, the data on crop-land suitability can help farmers and decision makers to develop new crop management systems along with enhancing land productivity.