Método de mapeo digital para una aproximación a la interpretación de la fertilidad de suelos y su relación con el rendimiento de maíz (Zea mays) en el municipio de Comacarán, San Miguel, El Salvador

Abstract

The research was carried out from June 2016 to May 2017 in the cantons of Platanarillo and Colorado belonging to the Municipality of Comacarán of the Department of San Miguel. Physical and chemical properties maps, fertility and corn yield were generated. The following databases were used: current use map, geology map, digital elevation model, road network map, map of departments, cantons and municipalities of El Salvador. At the beginning of the research, the Latin Condicion Hypercube (LHS), tool was used to determine the number of sampling points, which were generated from the digital elevation model (MDE) and terrain attribute maps, such as the Topographic Position index (TPI), the topographic Wetness index (TWI), and from these a cost map was generated using the road network of the area. Six sampling points were obtained, soil sampling was carried out with borehole, shovel, plastic bags, pallets, buckets, taking 5 subsamples for each point and forming a composite sample, later the samples were taken to the laboratory of Centro Nacional de Agricultural and Forestry Technology (CENTA) in which a complete laboratory analysis was done. The physicochemical parameters obtained were used together with the tools of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to finally elaborate property maps, with the performance data the maize crop performance map was carried out, in addition to the recommendations of the management of fertility of soils. After having the soil properties maps, the fertility map was elaborated in which it was obtained that 29.82% of the area is considered to have a low level and 39.04% a high level, for the cantons of the Colorado and the Platanarillo, of the municipality of Comacarán