Geospatial mapping at block scale for assessment of fruit crop diversity

A geospatial-based study was conducted in the Bijhari block of district Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh to analyze the fruit crop diversity of the study area. This block is situated in the hilly terrain which makes it difficult for such a study to be carried out in this area, the main challenges being the estimation of area under various fruit crops and the LULC mapping. The survey of the study area was conducted to prepare the fruit crop diversity map of the study area. The ground truth data and the soil samples were collected from the survey sites. Sentinel satellite data obtained from the European Space Agency were used to generate the NDVI and LULC maps. Thematic maps of soil pH, soil EC and soil OC were prepared by the IDW method. All the maps were prepared using the ESRI ArcMap 10.6.1 software. The fruit crop diversity map revealed that mango was the main fruit crop grown in the Bijhari block. The NDVI map showed that the maximum area was under the dense vegetation class in the selected block. Results of LULC mapping have shown that the tree cover occupies the maximum area in the Bijhari block. The pH of most of the soil samples was slightly acidic. Soil EC was found in safe ranges for the study area. Soil OC of most soil samples was in the medium and high ranges for the Bijhari block.