Development of a GIS based model for selection of suitable irrigation methods and crops in Punjab, Pakistan | |
| Author | Imran, Muhammad |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no.WM-18-29 |
| Subject(s) | Geographic information system--Pakistan--Punjab Irrigation water-Pakistan--Punjab Crops--Pakistan--Punjab |
| Note | A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Engineering in Water Engineering and Management |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Series Statement | Thesis ; no. WM-18-29 |
| Abstract | Agriculture in Pakistan has a significant role in the development of economy of the country. Land and water resources are the major components of irrigated agriculture. The main objective of this research was to develop a GIS-based model to select suitable irrigation methods and crops based on physical factors affecting irrigation system efficiency and crop production such as topography, soil, climate and water resources in Punjab, Pakistan. The combined AHP and GIS methodology which consists of stages such as structuring AHP hierarchy, describing evaluation criteria, doing pairwise comparisons and preparing criteria maps and land suitability maps has been applied to select suitable irrigation methods (sur- face, sprinkler and drip) and several crops such as cereals (wheat, rice, sorghum and maize), vegetable (tomato, onion and potato), fruits ( citrus, guava and mango) and fodder. The comparison of the results showed that, drip irrigation method was found to be most suitable irrigation method as compared to surface and sprinkler irrigation methods. It was found that 84.26 percent of the potential agricultural area was most suitable for applying drip irrigation; whereas only 3.26 and 0.41 percent area was most suitable for surface and sprinkler irrigation respectively. The main limiting factors for surface and sprinkler irrigation were groundwater salinity, pH and SAR. Results showed the suitability of different crops such as cereals, vegetables, fruits and fodder. The most suitable area for cereal crops (wheat, rice, sorghum, maize (spring) and maize (autumn) was found 10.94, 4.56, 89.36, 66.36 and 77.94 percent of potential agricultural area respectively. To grow vegetables in the study area, the most suitable area for tomato, onion, potato (autumn) and Potato (spring) was 72, 46, 10 and 2 percent respectively of agricultural area. For plantation of fruits, most suitable area for citrus, guava and mango was found 93.3, 76.77 and 80.4 percent respectively in the study area. The most suitable area for forage cultivation was found 74.03 percent of potential agricultural area in Punjab. A decision support system was developed to recommend most suitable irrigation method for the chosen crops. This decision support system will provide a sustainable solution towards crop productivity as it considering irrigation method which will optimize water consumption. |
| Year | 2018 |
| Corresponding Series Added Entry | Asian Institute of Technology. Thesis ; no. WM-18-29 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | School of Engineering and Technology |
| Department | Department of Civil and Infrastucture Engineering (DCIE) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Water Engineering and Management (WM) |
| Chairperson(s) | Babel, Mukand Singh;Soni, Peeyush |
| Examination Committee(s) | Shrestha, Sangam;Datta, Avishek |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | World Bank;Punjab Agriculture Department, Pakistan |