Fertility Evaluation of Some Regions of Dhi Qar and Wasit Governorates for Wheat Yield Indicators Using GIS Technique

Abstract The study was carried out in the district of Al-Hay and Al-Muwaffaqia Sub-district of Wasit Governorate and Qalat Sukkar and Al-Fajr Districts from Dhi Qar Governorate, where the soils of the study areas differed in some of their physical and chemical properties. Al-Hay field is located between longitudes (46° 1'55.36" - 46° 2'3.66") E and latitudes (32° 19'57.57" - 32° 19'59.70") N. Al- Muwaffaqia field is located between longitudes (45°53'8.51" - 45°53'33.90") E and latitudes (32°24'30.46" - 32°24'33.16") N, as for Qalat Sukkar district, it lies between longitudes (46° 9'32.82" - 46° 8'49.30") E and latitudes (31° 51'24.65" - 31° 51'32.30") N. Al-Fajr field is located between longitudes (45°58'42.42" - 45°58'20.76") E and latitudes (31°58'22.88" - 31°58'19.28") N. The studied fields in this study were planted with wheat (Edna class) for the year of 2022, and only nitrogen and phosphate fertilizers were added to all fields. Plant samples were taken from the fields in the flowering stage to perform some required analyzes. Geographical information systems (GIS) technology was used to predict some soil fertility criteria and to produce a fertility map for each region by adopting the fertility assessment. As well as linking the final fertility map with the wheat yield for each region. A database was built for the characteristics of the soil and the yield with the least effort and costs. The results of the study indicated the following: • There are three types of soil in terms of fertility assessment (fertile, medium and low fertile soils) in the study areas, and the two types of very fertile and non-fertile soils did not appear in the study areas. • The fertile soil class of Al-Hay area outperformed in growth indicators, yield and its components, the plant height was (111.70) cm, leaf area was (53.9) cm2 and weight of a thousand grains was (36.9) gm compared to non-fertile soils class. • The fertile soil class of Al-Muwaffaqia area outperformed in growth indicators, yield and its components, the plant height was (110.40) cm, leaf area was (53.3) cm2 and weight of one thousand grains was (36.7) gm compared to non-fertile soils class. • The fertile soil class of Qalat Sukkar area was superior in growth indicators, yield and its components, plant height was (110.10) cm, leaf area was (52.6) cm2 and weight of one thousand grains was (36.2) gm compared to non-fertile soils class. The characteristics included in this assessment (fertile soils class) are not ideally available in the study area in Al-Fajr district, which contributed to their non-appearance in this category.