Categorization and delineation of agricultural prime and marginal lands of Nagpur district, Maharashtra for different uses.

Abstract

The present investigation was undertaken to delineate agricultural prime, moderate prime and marginallands in Nagpur district Maharashtra based on land use, slope and soil characteristics. The extent ofprime lands in the district is about 470418.30 ha (47.5% of TGA) to which Kuhi, Mauda, Saoner andBhiwapur tehsils contribute, 61378.70 ha, 57051.69 ha, 41038.90 ha, and 41020.58 ha, respectively. Theextent of moderate prime lands is about 85096.00 ha (8.60% of TGA), which may be utilized throughadoption of appropriate agro-management. Out of 74699.73 ha (7.55 % of TGA) marginal lands, Katolcontributes large area (23205.20 ha) followed by Kalmeshwar (8337.75 ha), Hingna (8240.43 ha) andNarkhed (8151.97 ha) tehsils. The study also indicate that prime agricultural lands are mostly locatedaround the 4th and 5th stream orders and hence, stream order may be used as an indicator for identificationand delineation of prime agriculture lands. The delineation of prime lands will be helpful in land useplanning, protection of prime lands and sustainable utilization of lands. The quantification will help inprioritizing the area and judging the magnitude of efforts required to overcome the constraints.