Application of Cluster Analysis for Spatial Classification

The present study was undertaken in South Konkan region of Maharashtra state. Cluster analysis is a multivariate statistical procedure that starts with data set containing information about a sample of entities into attempts to reorganize these entities into relatively homogeneous groups or groups of highly similar entities, called as "clusters". The variables were based on the set of 23 agroclimatic characteristics. The analysis has classified in to all 17 Tahsils of South Konkan region into two distinct clusters. It was concluded from the study that cluster analysis technique is useful in spatial classification, which can be further used for making development policy in general agriculture in particular for deciding the region specific cropping as well fanning systems.