SITE CHARACTERIZATION1

Agripina Rana-Aradilla
Department of Agronomy & Plant Breeding
College of Agriclture, CMU,Musuan, Bukidnon

Introduction

There is a need to evaluate the physical, biological and socio-economic conditions existing in the
area, the options that are available in terms of crop species and the technological inputs that will be
required in growing the crops.

The initial step prior to actual production constitute a planning phase or the conduct of a feasibility
study to decide on the location and crop enterprises that will be set up.

The Farm Environment

 It consists of the natural, biophysical, social, economic and political environment.

 Farming systems is equated to the environment and the type of farming systems to be adopted in
a farm and is determined by several factors that influence it The site characteristics and qualities
of the area play an important consideration in crop production and management. These
characteristics include topography/slope, effective soil depth, soil texture, available moisture,
water holding capacity, soil drainage, flooding hazard and natural soil fertility like pH, organic
matter, available P, exchangeable K, cation exchange capacity, etc.

 The ideal soil for upland crops has a deep rooting zone and easily penetrable by air, water and
roots. It has good water holding capacity but drains excess water freely. It has a balance supply
of nutrients that cannot be easily washed away during rains. Paddy rice, e.g. prefers level, deep,
fertile and poorly drained soils that can be flooded while the crop is growing.

Effects of Soil Characteristics for Crop Production

Slope – is the ratio of the vertical distance over the horizontal distance both of the same linear unit
multiplied by 100%. It influence retention and movement of water, movement of soil
materials, soil depth and rate and amount of run-off

Soil Texture – refers to the relative proportion of clay, silt and sand. Soil structure depends on the
kind and amount of clay in the soil.

 Clay works with organic matter to hold water and nutrients, binds soil particles together; holds
more water and nutrients than sandy soils; has higher cation exchange capacity than sandy soils

 Medium textured soils like loam and silt loam are best soils for diversified upland crops. Paddy
rice prefers poorly drained clayey soils

________________
 1
A Lecture delivered by Dr. Agripina R. Aradilla during the CEEP LEA Review on May 14, 2012 at
the College of Agriculture, Central Mindanao University, Musuan, Bukidnon.

Soil Depth – Effective soil depth refers to the thickness of the soil to layers coarser than loamy fine
sand, sand, gravels, stones, rocks or any impermeable layer or to depth to water table.

 Soil Depth – Effective soil depth refers to the thickness of the soil to layers coarser than loamy
fine sand, sand, gravels, stones, rocks or any impermeable layer or to depth to water table.

Depth of surface soil:

For Annuals – relatively shallow depths are all right

For perennials – greater depths should be advantageous

 The thicker the effective soil depth, the more the volume of soil that can be extracted of plant
nutrient and water

 Deeper soils are more productive than shallow soils. Crops can endure a longer drought when
they thrive on soils having a higher water holding capacity.

Soil Drainage is the removal of water from the soil through surface run-off and by flow through the
soil to underground spaces

 Well-drained soil promote favorable conditions for plant growth and microbial activity.
 Drainage is important for crops that are sensitive to water logging
 Factors affecting soils drainage: slope, permeability, vegetation and land use, and amount of
rainfall

Available Water & Water holding Capacity

 Available water is the water content of a soil held between field capacity and permanent wilting
point expressed in percent

 Field capacity represents the maximum amount of water a soil can hold against normal drainage

 Permanent wilting point is the moisture of soil water when the plants start to wilt

 Soil with poor drainage have limited agricultural use because of wetness. These soils are not
suitable for upland crops unless adequately drained but they are best for paddy rice.

 Medium textured soils hold the most water in available form

 Coarse textured soil hold little water because of their low water content at field capacity.
 Fine clayey soils supply limited available water because they return large amount of water at
permanent wilting point.

Soil Erosion

 The degree and amount of soil erosion is mainly dependent on steepness and length of slope,
climate, kind of soil, nature of land use and vegetative cover, and cultural and soil management
practices. Surface erosion occurs when the amount of rainfall exceed to that of the infiltration
capacity of the soils.
  Soils with larger & steeper slopes are more susceptive to sever soil erosion than soils with lower
shorter slopes & all other factors are equal.
 Soil erosion is more severe on areas with more frequent and more intense alternate wet and dry
periods than areas with uniform rainfall throughout the year.
 Sandy soils are more susceptible to erosion than clayey soils due to detachment and lack of
binding materials.
 Plowing and tilling across the slopes tend to hasten soil erosion to a great degree.

Flooding Hazard

 Flooding occurs on areas occupying low physiographic positions along rivers and streams, low
alluvial terraces of the coastal landscape
 Prolonged deep flooding prevents root respiration due to absence of oxygen and deprives the
plants of the essential soil nutrients

Inherent Soil Fertility

 Soil fertility refers to the status of the soil in terms of its ability to provide the plants adequate
amount of nutrients in balance proportion and on readily available form necessary for normal
plant growth.
 It is related to pH, organic matter, CEC, available P, extractable K and base saturation

a. Soil pH affects plant growth on its nutritional needs. It influences the rate of plant nutrient
released by weathering, the solubility of all materials in the soil and the amount of nutrient ions
kept on the CEC sites.

Organic matter content affects soils fertility in terms of CEC and nutrient supply. The
higher the organic matter content, the higher is the CEC supply of available N, P and S.

b. Available P – second most deficient nutrient in most soils; is derived from mineralization of
organic matter. P availability is related to soil pH. A pH range from 6.5 – 7.5 is usually best for P
availability.

c. Exchangeable P - essentially needed in large amount by plants which comes mostly from
mineral solids. K is most available at pH 6 – [Link] in leached soils, available K declines.

d. Percentage base saturation – refers to the percentage of CEC occupied by basic cations such as
Ca, Mg, K and Na measured at pH 7 or 8. Cations like H and Al are excluded because they are
acid produced.

Biotic Factors

a) Cropping patterns. These are temporal and spatial arrangement of crops in the field which are
based on type of climate and soil, availability of farm inputs and technical know how of the farmer.
 One cannot deviate much unless the community as a whole, changes the pattern. The
risks from pest damage is the field are greater if planting is not synchronized with that of the
community.

b) Varietal selection – The variety to be planted in the farm depends on its adaptability, the
preference or purpose for planting it, its resistance to pests and diseases, maturity indices, high
yielding and good eating quality.

Information on yields of best farms in the area must be obtained and used for
upgrading operations.

c) Insects & diseases – The prevalence of insects & disease must be considered thus planting
synchronously is favorable and the variety should be resistant to pests & diseases. Cavite,
Laguna, Batangas and nearby provinces should not be planted with papaya due to
prevalence of ringspot virus.

d) Weeds – There must be thorough land preparation before planting and there must be
maximum utilization of the land to prevent growth of weeds (increase plant density)

e) Animals – Astray animals in the farm affect production. However, draft animals are beneficial to
farmers. There must be compatibility of the animal component to the crop components.

Physical Component

A. Soil Component

1) Geography – The location of the farm affects production. Farms near big municipalities/cities
produce a variety of crops in a small area (diversified) whereas those in the
upland are at a disadvantage due to lack of accessibility to roads and markets.

2) Topography and elevation – The terrain or contour of the land affects cropping patterns.
Lowlands are utilized for producing most likely annuals (cereals, etc) whereas
in the uplands with high altitudes, vegetables are raised.

3) Land Use Pattern – It depends on the rainfall pattern of the area and the cropping patterns used
such as that after one cropping, it is followed by a short fallow before another
cropping starts. Or the farm is fallowed to rest for a few months before another
cropping starts.

B. Climate Component

1) Rainfall Pattern – With upland farms usually rainfed, planting crops should be in timingwith good
rain. A planting calendar based on rainfall pattern should be adopted to fully utilize
photosynthesis. The climate also influences cropping patterns as this depends
on the rainfall intensity and distribution as it affects soil workability, crop growth
and development, and maturity

2) Temperature – Plants have specific temperature requirements to grow vigorously at different

stages of growth. In the choice of crops, the growing season has to be
considered which are also influenced by atitude, altitude and slope of the place.
 3) Typhoon/Drought Occurrence – In areas where there are ‘typhoon belts’, the crops to be planted
are creeping species (sweet potato, etc) and the annuals so that these could be
harvested with less effect from strong winds or the planting of drought tolerant
crops.

4) Wind Velocity – Still air are beneficial to crops as this aids the pollination process. But wind
velocity also cause soil erosion and therefore planting wind breaks are
necessary.

5) Solar radiation – Light intensity, duration and quality affects dry matter accumulation as this is
used for photosynthesis. Plants have higher dry matter accumulation under
optimum sunlight

Economic Components

1) Off-farm income sources – Farm management involves capital and the capital of a farmer
might not be enough hence, he has to secure off-farm income to augment his finances

2) Labor market – There is shortage of labor during “peak months” and labor is expensive and if
labor is available, it is expensive and demand higher price. Therefore in the farm,
operations should be done on staggered basis such that labor is available at off-seasons

3) Market & Credit – In deciding what to raise in the farm, the farmer has to the consider the demand
(quantity and quality) of the products at high price based on customer preference; the marketing
outlets and the ROI.

Supply and demand situations should be known so that operations can be adjusted for
harvesting to coincide with the slack periods of supply when prices are high. Also, the farmer has
to develop storage and selling strategies to avoid risk.

 Credits are supplied by banks, etc. or middlemen. Credits help farmers a lot but this may also tie
down their produce to lower prices. On the other hand, capital for inputs and services are readily
available.

4) Transport facilities. Necessary for marketing of farm products as well as transport of supplies
and inputs. Insufficient transport facilities in the farm results to slow turnover of outputs to
cash, and may even result to wastage of produce.

5) Channels of market information – Media and technicians inform farmers of the recent product
demand and prices of commodities in the market. Farmers has to raise goods of preference to
consumers that command high prices.

6) Landholding, inheritance pattern and land tenure status – Available land resources and farm
distribution affect crops grown and the farming system used. For land owners, they can plant
on extensive scale whereas others on small scale based on farm sizes.

 Land tenure status influences production as there are agreements and disagreements between
landlord and tenants. With fragmented holding, fields may be of different soil types due to
complex management practices
Socio-cultural Components

1) Organization and Leadership – Formal and non-formal leaders help members in understanding the
current pattern of resource distribution and these leaders would mobilize the members to form
cooperatives and avail of and have access to support and technical assistance.

2) Ethnicity and idiosyncrasies – Values, outcomes and traditions are inherent to all people and this
affects farming system. Farmers have to raise crops as handed down traditions such as in Mt.
Province, people raised vegetables and in Cebu, people raise and eat corn

3) Aspirations and attitudes – Aspirations help farmers to strive more for certain definite purpose –
child’s education or alleviate income. Farmers’ attitude also limit production but if they are taking
risk as opportunities then they have to diversity their farms to have continuous cash flow, much
food, wider host range of pests and diseases and if one crop fails, there are still others to be
harvested.

4) Intellectual and technical perspective

Those who engaged in farming are the middle age group and are of low educational
attainment. They lack technical know how but with wider farming experiences.

5) Tradition, customs and beliefs

Whatever traditions, customs and beliefs of the people influence the type of crops
or animals raised. They have to follow on what they “believe” in terms of farming.

Bio-physical Features of Land and Crop Adaptation

1. Submerged conditions during most of the crop’s life cycle e.g. rice, taro water chestnut
(apulid) and Sesbania rostrata for green manuring.

 Most crops are sensitive to water logging

 Jute and sorghum can tolerate periodic waterlogged conditions
 Corn can not tolerate waterlogging and sensitive to even short period (36 hrs) of
waterlogging
 Rambutan, papaya and durian are very sensitive to under-drainage or water-logged
conditions
 Mango can tolerate waterlogging for a certain period of time
 Sorjan – a system of raising upland crops - (vegetables & peanuts) in raised beds
along side submerged lowland rice

2. Humid condition and where rainfall is more uniformly distributed which is suitable to all
perennial crops such as mangosteen (Mindanao) and abaca (Mindanao, Easter Visayas and
Bicol peninsula). Mango produce quality and tasty fruits in areas where there is a dry spell.

3. Cool climate or mild climate in the highlands of Mt. province, Mt Kanlaon (Negros Island) and in
Bukidnon-Lanao plateau are suitable for vegetable species like white potato, cabbage, peas,
carrots, head lettuce, asparagus,etc. The suitable fruit species are litchi (lychee), longgan,
ponkan mandarin orange, strawberry, grape and macademia nut.
4. Coastal areas are suited for coconut, cashew, tamarind and talisay (Terminalia catappa) which is a
source of dye for clothing materials and nipa palm (Nympha fruticans) can thrive well in saline
conditions. The limit of elevation for coconut is 600m above sea level.

5. Partial shade is good for ginger, black pepper, vanilla, lanzones, rambutan, mangosteen, cacao,
coffee, banana, arrowroot, pachouli and many other crops can be grown under coconut trees,
ipil-ipil and madre de cacao (G. sepium).

6. Low pH 4.3 – 5.0 as in Bukidnon is suitable for rubber, pineapple, cassava, sweet potato and
Stylosanthes humilis, a forage legumes that nodulate at pH 4.0-4.5. Acid tolerant crop
varieties of corn have been developed by CIMMYT,IPB-UPLB and CMU; mungbean, peanut
and cowpea in IPB-UPLB and rice in IRRI and CIAT-Colombia.

7. Light-textured soils are good for rootcrops, asparagus, legumes and corn.

8. Poor and stony soils are good for cashew and forage legumes. Kaong or sugar palm “Areca pinnata”
can also be grown in these areas.

9. Drought-prone areas are suited for sorghum, cashew, pineapple, sweet potato, pigeon pea, cowpea,
mungbean, and napier.

10. Photoperiod or daylength. Soybeans, winged beans, kenaf, coffee, pineapple, \

chrysanthemum and some rice varieties are photoperiod sensitive responsive and will flower
when daylength has become shorter than 12 hours. Bulb formation is hastened by longer days.
In yams (ubi), long days favor vine development and short days hasten tuberization.

Crops that have become dominant in certain areas

 La Union and Pangasinan - tobacco, garlic

 Quirino Prov, CagayanValley & Siquijor - peanut
 Negros Tarlac-Pampanga and Batangas – sugarcane
 Guimaras Island, Cebu & Central Luzon – mango
 Albay, Camarines Sur, Bicol – Pili Nut
 Cavite, Laguna, Bukidnon, General Santos - pineapple
 Davao & Bukidnon – export bananas
 Bicol, Samar, Leyte - abaca
 Cagayan Valley & Mindanao - corn