s. a. mahmood

Agriculture has a pivotal role in the provision of food, fabric and income. Agricultural sector is backbone of Pakistan’s economy, which is strongly dependent on agriculture. Pakistan is renowned globally for its wheat crop. However, wheat production has suffered due to lack of modern farming techniques, inadequate water availability, and relevant soil parameters. The main objective of this study was to monitor stages of wheat growth using Landsat 8 thermal datasets through temperature-based site maps. This study delineates suitable areas for sustainable wheat growth using Multi-Criteria Evaluation (MCE) and GIS. The total area under investigation was 5,697 km2 and the area under wheat cultivation was 2,276.63 km2, out of which 1,684.26 km2 (74%) was found highly suitable, 68.3376 km2 (3%) was moderately suitable, 61.6678 km2 (2.7%) was least suitable, and 462.355 km2 (20.30%) was found not suitable for wheat crop cultivation. The results interoperated that the area with temperature range of 10–18◦C, and pH ranging between 6.2 and 6.5, clay loom soil texture, and 0.85 and 1.1 drainage level indicate highly suitable land for wheat production. This study highlights the local farming techniques, suitable land for wheat production, and patterns of crop harvesting.