Land suitability evaluation for upland red rice in the karst topography of Pacarejo, Semanu, Gunungkidul

Abstract

Pacarejo, a village in Kapanewon Semanu, is located a karst area. Karst conditions cause the ability of land for agriculture to be very limited. However, this is an opportunity to develop dry land into productive agricultural land by planting potential crops that are suitable for land conditions and having a good economic value. The purpose of the study was to determine the level of land suitability in Pacarejo Village for upland red rice. This study used a survey method. Land system maps were produced from overlays of land use maps, land type maps, and slope maps so that 37 land systems were obtained. The determination of sampling points used the purposive sampling method based on the selected land system, namely 11 sample points by excluding settlements and land with steep slopes. The data analysis method used matching between land characteristics and suitability criteria for crops according to the Technical Guidelines for Evaluating Suitability for Agricultural Commodities. The results showed that the suitability class for upland red rice was S3 (Marginal Suitable) covering an area of 1.636,63 ha (57,87%) with limiting factors of oxygen availability (oa), root conditions (rc), and nutrient retention (nr). Land suitability in several land systems can potentially be improved to S2 class by improving the limiting factors of rapid soil drainage and low soil base saturation.
Keywords: upland red rice, karst, soil mapping unit, land suitability, Pacarejo