Not AvailableSustaining soil and land quality under intensive land
use and fast economic development is a major challenge
for improving crop productivity in the developing
world. Assessment of soil and land quality
indicators is necessary to evaluate the degradation
status and changing trends of different land use and
management interventions. During the last four decades,
the Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP) which covers an
area of about 52.01 m ha has been the major food producing
region of the country. However at present, the
yield of crops in IGP has stagnated; one of the major
reasons being deterioration of soil and land quality.
The present article deals with the estimation of soil
and land quality indicators of IGP, so that, proper soil
and land management measures can be taken up to
restore and improve the soil health. Use of principal
component analysis is detailed to derive the minimum
dataset or indicators for soil quality. The article also
describes spatial distribution of soil and land quality
with respect to major crops of IGP.Not Availabl
