Study of the Yield Differences in Sugarcane at Al Guneid Scheme as Related to Land Evaluation System in Sudan

Al Guneid sugar Scheme lies in Gezira State and located 120 km South East of Khartoum on the eastern bank of the Blue Nile near Rufaa, with an estimated area of 42, 000 feddans (17640 hectares). It stretches from Al Hilallyia town at North, to Tambul at East and South of Rufaa city. The farming area included in the agricultural rotation amount to 37, 500 feddans (15756 hectares). The scheme area comprises canals, irrigation pumps and villages. This scheme was specified for sugarcane production and it was consider as a pilot projects in cane production and sugar industry in Sudan. This study was carried to compare the results of the previous soil survey and land classification on Al Guneid scheme with long term yield figures. It is hoped that the conclusion will contribute in improving soil management. The scheme is divided into two main parts, Northern and Southern sections from which eight fields were selected for this study depending on the soil and land suitability maps. Yield data for 12 seasons from (2000-2013), was made available from the scheme records. Geographical Information System was used to determine the fields (canals) locations based on the soil and suitability maps. According to the previous soil surveys studies two different soil types (soil unit 14 and 17) have been identified and both classified as moderately suitable lands (S2) due to some physical limitation but without marked differences in their suitability for sugar cane production. However, in some statistical analysis of previous data it could be inferred that unit 14reflectedbetter soil properties than unit 17. In this study the use of the long term yield data beside utilization of the GIS it enables better evaluation of yield characteristics of the two units. The results of this study clearly confirmed that the sugar cane productivity in the fields which are located in soil unit 14 soil excels those in the soil unit 17 by 3.0 -6.0 tons/ feddan. The study also confirmed that there is a difference in the productivity per unit of land between the north and the south sections, where the production of similar soil units in south exceeds the north. The production differences of similar soils at north and south are most probably attributed to management differences. The study recommends the use of geographic information systems (GIS) when conducting land evaluation studies related to production since fields with specific soils and yields could be located easily.