Evaluation of wheat yield potential in some Iranian Cultivated plains

Sustainable agricultural development and soil resources conservation presuppose adequate knowledge of soil properties, land yield potential, and land use to facilitate the production of such essential agricultural products as wheat. Along these lines, the present study was conducted to identify the land limiting factors, as well as the severity of each factor, in four selected regions in Iran covering an area of about 60,000 ha. Moreover, the relationship between wheat actual yield and land yield potential in the study areas was established. Finally, the results of land suitability investigations and land yield potential estimations were duly analyzed. It was found that the mean effect of intrinsic soil properties on wheat yield reduction was about 2388 kg.ha‒1 (28.74%). Also, a difference of about 2192 kg.ha‒1 (26.37%) was found between land yield potential and average farm yield in the study areas, which is relatively high and indicates both the lack of a proper management system and the failure to exploit land yield potential toward optimum crop production. A point of interest in the study areas was that the difference between actual yield by some leading farmers and the land yield potential in soils highly suitable (S1) for irrigated wheat production was low but that it was high in soils with moderate to low suitability. It was, therefore, concluded that it would be necessary to extend proper agricultural management practices among leading farmers in each area to enhance their crop yield and land productivity in that area. Once implemented, optimal management practices will expectedly improve irrigated wheat farm yield by as much as 85% the local land yield potential.