USING THE LAND EVALUATION SYSTEM TO ACHIEVE OPTIMAL INVESTMENT IN SOUTH EL-AMIRIA SOILS, ALEXANDRIA GOVERNORATE, EGYPT

The study area is located between longitudes 29o 47` 55``and 30o 30`05`` East and latitudes 29o29`30`` and 30o 30` 05`` North and comprises an area of about 571168 Feddans. The current study is considered an attempt to achieve the optimal investment based on the Land Evaluation System. The study area was assessed based on existing and prospective conditions. Additionally, delineate the various limiting factors of each soil location. The viability of crops was assessed based on the specifications of different land units and by comparing the relative viability of the crops to one another. Soils of profiles 2 and 9 recorded high suitability index in both current and potential suitability index for lacustrine and windblown sand, respectively. The most suitable fruit crops were olives, followed by guava, and sesame was the most suited field crop. While the watermelon crop exhibits the highest suitability among vegetable crops. The study also included determining the water requirements for each crop separately by calculating reference evapotranspiration (ETo) and crop evapotranspiration (ETcrop). Evapotranspiration was calculated using standard conditions. Crop evapotranspiration is derived from meteorological and crop data through the Penman-Monteith equation. The annual water consumption was recorded at 1300.524 mm/year.