Land suitability analysis for sustainable cultivation of apple (Malus domestica) using integrated geospatial and multi-criteria modelling in Southwestern Ethiopia
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Date
2026
Authors
Gurmessa, M.M.
Moisa, M.B.
Ejigu, T.E.
Roba, Z.R.
Chalchissa, F.B.
Demelash, M.
Negash, D.
Iticha, B.
Deribew, K.T.
Kipkulei, H.K.
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Journal article
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Discover Sustainability, 2026; 7(1):353-1-353-19
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Mengistu Muleta Gurmessa, Mitiku Badasa Moisa, Tekalign Emiru Ejigu, Zenebe Reta Roba, Fedhasa Benti Chalchissa, Melkamu Demelash, Dugassa Negash, Birhanu Iticha, Kiros Tsegay Deribew, Harison Kiplagat Kipkule, Muleta Ebissa Feyissa and Dessalegn Obsi Gemeda
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Abstract
Apple cultivation represents a sustainable livelihood strategy that enhances farmers’ income while contributing to environmental conservation. Apple production is highly constrained by winter chilling requirements, which are strongly influenced by altitude and local climate. This study assessed the spatial distribution of land suitability for apple cultivation in the study area using geospatial modeling techniques. Climatic, topographic, and environmental variables were integrated using GIS-based multi-criteria analysis to identify suitable zones for apple production. The results obtained from the evaluation of the suitability of the land for growing apple (Malus domestica) showed large variability in space. While 1.6% (112.5 km²) and 35.2% (2423.8 km²) were recorded as highly and moderately suitable areas respectively, 57.3% (3954.4 km²) ranked as marginally suitable. The remaining 5.9% (404.9 km²) is unsuitable because of factors consisting of high temperature, low chill intensity in winter, and soil characteristics. The highly suitable regions were largely dominated by Dabo Hana, Diga, and Bedele Zuriya in the mid and northwestern parts of the region, and the marginally suitable and unsuitable regions were largely dominated by Boricha and Gechi in the southern and Eastern districts, respectively. This indicates that apple production potential in the region is still limited and dependent on management interventions. Furthermore, the dominance of marginal suitability in the region shows that if apple production is extended without consideration of suitability, it may result in less productivity and climate risk. Thus, it is recommended to focus on apple production in highly suitable, moderately suitable, and marginal areas of the region, adopting climate-smart approaches like supplemental irrigation, fertilizer application, and the introduction of new apple varieties of low chill and heat française.
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© The Author(s) 2026. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, which permits any non-commercial use, sharing, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if you modified the licensed material. You do not have permission under this licence to share adapted material derived from this article or parts of it. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.