SOIL POTENTIALITIES AS USEFUL MEAN FOR PLANNING AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT IN “SAHL BARAKA”- FARAFRA OASES, NEW VALLEY: I- EXPLORATION, SURVEY AND CLASSIFICATION

Rahim, I.S.; Wahba, M.M.; Ageeb, G.W.; Awad, F.

doi:10.21608/jssae.2002.255932

SOIL POTENTIALITIES AS USEFUL MEAN FOR PLANNING AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT IN “SAHL BARAKA”- FARAFRA OASES, NEW VALLEY: I- EXPLORATION, SURVEY AND CLASSIFICATION

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ Soil and Water Use Dept., NRC, Cairo, Egypt.

² Soil and Water Use Dept., NRC, Cairo, Egypt

10.21608/jssae.2002.255932

Abstract

     The study area of “Sahl Baraka” covers about 10.000 feddan at Farafra oasis- New Valley. Forty two soil profiles have been selected to represent the variation in the soils of the study area. According to the morphological description, climatic conditions, physical and chemical analyses and USDA (1999), these soil can be classified as the following: Typic Torripsamments, Typic Quartzipsamments, Typic Haplocalcids, Gypsic Haplocalcids, Typic Calcigypsids, Lithic Calcigypsids, and Gypsic and Calcic Aquisalids.
         In general more than 50% of the study area are sandy soils (Typic Torripsamments and Quartzipsamments). These soils can be easily cultivated. The second soil units of Aridisols contain Calcids, Gypsids and Salids suborders. The soils of Calcids covers more than 25% of the study area. Gypsids suborder included of 5 soil profiles. There is a small area (about 20 fed.) identified as Lithic Calcigypsids subgroup which characterized by calcareous rocky profile. The suborder of Salids represented by wet calcareous shale, Salic Calcic and Salic Gypsic horizons are present in most layers. This type of soil is very limited and covers about 20 feddans, from the studied area.
         It can be concluded that soil survey and classification are very essential and important for investing any virgin area for agricultural development and rural rehabilitation as in the case of Sahl Baraka in Farafra oasis.

Keywords