Site Suitability Assessment for Banana Cultivation by Integration with Fuzzy-AHP and GIS Techniques

Abstract

The banana is considered a pivotal component of a healthy diet, owing to its high fiber, mineral and vitamin content which engenders satiety. The area dedicated to banana cultivation has been increasing in recent times, owing to the fact that it is a more lucrative crop per unit area than other options. Since 2017, there has been a tenfold increase in the cultivation of banana plants in T & uuml;rkiye. A substantial proportion of this increase has been observed in the province of Adana, situated within the Mediterranean Region of T & uuml;rkiye. The banana plant is known to demonstrate partial selectivity with regard to soil and land characteristics conducive to successful cultivation. It is imperative to ascertain the optimal locations for the establishment of greenhouses intended for banana cultivation purposes. The objective of the present study is to ascertain the areas of land that are most suitable for the establishment of greenhouses for the purpose of banana cultivation in & Ccedil;ukurova. This will be achieved by employing the Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (F-AHP) and Geographic Information System (GIS). The study utilized a soil database that had been prepared at the soil series level. The study determined the most suitable soil series for banana cultivation by considering four classes of S1, S2, S3 and N. The results showed that the study area had a 14.4% suitability rating for banana cultivation at S1, 18.9% at S2, 52.5% at S3, and 2.4% at N. The results also indicated that greenhouses in the region should not be established in areas determined as N and S3, but can be established in areas mapped as S1 and S2. The findings of the study indicated that the integration of F-AHP and GIS techniques constitutes a valuable methodology for the precise evaluation of land suitability in the context of banana cultivation planning.