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The main objective of this research was to compare different irrigation methods based upon a parametric evaluation system in an area of 15,193 ha in the North Andimeshk Plain located in the Khuzestan Province, in the southwest of Iran. Soil properties of the study area such as texture, depth, electrical conductivity, drainage, calcium carbonate content and slope were derived from a semi-detailed soil study carried out on the North Andimeshk Plain on a scale of 1:20,000. Once the soil properties were analyzed and evaluated, suitability maps were generated for surface, sprinkler and drip irrigation methods using Remote Sensing (RS) techniques and Geographic Information System (GIS). The obtained results showed that there was not found highly suitable lands for all the irrigation methods. The results demonstrated that by applying sprinkler irrigation instead of surface and drip irrigation methods, the land suitability of 5429 ha (35.74%) of the North Andimeshk Plain’s land could be improved substantially. However, by applying drip irrigation instead of surface and sprinkler irrigation methods, the suitability of 9764 ha (64.27%) of this plain’s land could be improved. By applying sprinkler irrigation instead of surface and drip irrigation methods, the arability of 21,250 ha (72.53%) in the Abbas Plain will improve. In addition by applying drip irrigation instead of surface and sprinkler irrigation methods, the land suitability of 6275 ha (21.42%) of this plain will improve. The comparison of the different types of irrigation techniques revealed that the drip and sprinkler irrigation methods were more effective and efficient than the surface irrigation methods for improving land productivity. Moreover, the main limiting factor in using surface and sprinkler irrigation methods in this area were soil texture, soil depth and slope. Also, the main limiting factors in using drip irrigation methods were soil calcium carbonate content, texture and depth.
