简介：Nepalisoneofthetopthreeexportersoflargercardamom(AmomumsubulatumRoxb.)intheworldmarketcontributinglargelytotheNepaleseeconomy.Sub-HimalayanrangeofhillyareaofeasternNepalispopularforlargecardamomcultivation.Beingsimilarphytogeographicalandecologicalsetting,cultivationhasbeguninhillsofKathmanduValleyhoweverlandsuitabilityneedstobeevaluatedwithreferencetospecificneedofthecrop.Kathmanduisavalleywithalluvialbottomandaltitudinalrangebetween1200and2730mabovesealevelhavingcooltowarmtemperateclimaticrange.Varietiesofaspectsandslopegradienthavepotentialityforthelargecardamomcultivation.Aimofthestudywassettocategorizeavailablelandareaintherangeofsuitabilityforlargecardamoncultivationonthebasisofphysicalcharacteristicsofthelandandecologicalneedofcrop.LandevaluationmethodologyhasbeendesignedalongwithsitespecificamendmentinFAOframework(1976).Landusemapinscaleof1:25000wasusedingeographicinformationsystemenvironment.Suitabilitywasdonethroughmapoverlayingmethods.Aimofthestudywassettocategorizeavailablelandareaintherangeofsuitabilitycategoriesforlargecardamomcultivationbasedonphysicalcharacteristicsofthelandmatchingwithecologicalneedofcrop.AnalysisofdatashowsthataltitudinalrangeatuplandsofKathmanduValleyandannualaveragerainfallandtemperaturearefoundtobewithinsuitabilityrangeforAmomumsubulatumcultivation.Sandyloamsoil,slightlyacidicinnaturewithgentleslopinglandofabout5-8°provideshighlysuitablecondition.Resultshowedthatmorethanone-thirdoftotallandareaabove1800mofaltitudeissuitable.Selectively,ofthetotalarea,5%arenorthfacingslope,13%gentleslopesarehighlysuitable.16%landswithnortheastorientationaremoderatelysuitable.Mostofthelandareaswhicharemarginalysuitabileforvegetableandcerealcropsarehighlysuitableforlargecardamom.Hillsofnorthernboundary