Evaluation of Land Suitability for Cocoa Plants: A Case Study in Aranio District, Banjar District, South Kalimantan

Abstract

Land can be said to be suitable for the development of a certain agricultural commodity, if it is included in the appropriate category both biophysically and socioeconomically. This study aims to determine the land suitability class for cocoa plant commodities in Aranio District. The research methods used were survey methods and matching methods. The map used is a map of land units obtained from overlaying several maps, namely land form maps, land use maps, slope maps, and soil maps. The study population consisted of 12 land units, namely 11 denudational landforms and 1 fluvial landform. The sample was determined using a random sampling technique with a total of 2 samples for each land unit. Primary data comes from field observations and laboratory tests, while secondary data comes from literature studies. The data were analyzed by matching the growth requirements of the cocoa plant with the land suitability map. The results showed that the evaluation of land suitability for cocoa plant commodities in Aranio District has 3 classes, namely class S3 (according to marginal), N1 (currently unsuitable), and S2 (appropriate), with limiting factors: slope, soil pH, P2O5, erosion hazard, effective depth, and surface rock.