[Ecological boundary for wheat cultivation in Jordan]
1986
Barham, N. (Jordan Univ., Amman (Jordan))
The expansion of rainfed farming has led to the exploitation of marginal lands of low productivity. Considering the fact that wheat production covers only 16% of the national consumption, such development becomes irrelevant to solving food problem in Jordan. Random expansion in rainfed farming also has negative effects on such lands which maintains a very sophisticated ecosystem. Thus, it becomes the ultimate purpose of this research to delimit the areas of possible crop cultivation, and wheat, in particular. Wheat productivity in more than 500 villages in Jordan in the period 1967-1985 has been used to delimit areas suitable for agriculture, from an ecological point of view. The productivity is considered accordingly, as a resultant for all human and physical environmental components, while rainfall and temperature, alone, have been excluded. The mean, coefficient of variation as well as the probability of 60 kg/dunum productivity are calculated. Such productivity is considered the critical value of the environmental margin for wheat cultivation. The boundary of wheat farming, concluded, enjoys a profitable economic productivity (more than 60 kg/dunum), low variability (coefficient of variation is 40-50%), and a high probability (more than 70%) for wheat farming within the minimum level of productivity
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