Quality Assessment and Suitability Evaluation of Soils under Tuber-based Cropping System in Katsina Ala Local Government Area, Benue State, Nigeria

Crop yields together with economic and social benefits of farming depend in part on land management and soil quality. Soil management and  cropping systems have long-term effects on agronomic and environmental functions. This study aimed at assessing soils under yam-based  cropping systems for quality and suitability so as to enhance sustainable production. The study was carried out in Katsina Ala local government area of Benue state where yam is a major crop. Sixteen modal profile were dug, described for characterization and suitability evaluation. Ten cluster locations were selected and twenty soil samples randomly collected within each cluster. The soils were subjected to laboratory analyses and results subjected descriptive statistics. Suitability of the soils for yam, citrus and groundnut were evaluated using parametric approach and soil quality of the area was assessed using Relative Soil Quality Indices (RSQI). The soils encountered are sandy to silty in nature with some having plinthite at depth. The soils, classified as Alfisol, Entisol and Inceptisol are moderately (S2) to highly suitable S1) for the three crops and have moderate to high quality for crop production with percentage soil quality index ranging from 60. 37 to 74.31 %. Soils of the study site are of good quality and are suitable for production of yam, citrus and groundnut. However, because yam is a great feeder and tropical soils are fragile making them prone todegradation, there is need for maintenance of soil fertility through organic matter management for sustainable use. Keywords: soil quality, suitability, yam, cropping systems, soil managemen

Quality Assessment and Suitability Evaluation of Soils under Tuber-based Cropping System in Katsina Ala Local Government Area, Benue State, Nigeria

Crop yields together with economic and social benefits of farming depend in part on land management and soil quality. Soil management and cropping systems have long-term effects on agronomic and environmental functions. This study aimed at assessing soils under yam-based cropping systems for quality and suitability so as to enhance sustainable production. The study was carried out in Katsina Ala local government area of Benue state where yam is a major crop. Sixteen modal profile were dug, described for characterization and suitability evaluation. Ten cluster locations were selected and twenty soil samples randomly collected within each cluster. The soils were subjected to laboratory analyses and results subjected descriptive statistics. Suitability of the soils for yam, citrus and groundnut were evaluated using parametric approach and soil quality of the area was assessed using Relative Soil Quality Indices (RSQI). The soils encountered are sandy to silty in nature with some having plinthite at depth. The soils, classified as Alfisol, Entisol and Inceptisol are moderately (S2) to highly suitable S1) for the three crops and have moderate to high quality for crop production with percentage soil quality index ranging from 60. 37 to 74.31 %. Soils of the study site are of good quality and are suitable for production of yam, citrus and groundnut. However, because yam is a great feeder and tropical soils are fragile making them prone to degradation, there is need for maintenance of soil fertility through organic matter management for sustainable use

Levels and geochemical fractions of Cd, Pb and Zn in valley bottom soils of some urban cities in south- western Nigeria

The valley bottom soils of urban cities are sink for municipal and industrial solid and liquid wastes. These valleys are used by urban farmers to grow vegetables for the consumption of urban dwellers. Knowledge of total content of heavy metals is not enough to fully assess the environmental impact of these soils. Therefore the determination of metal fractions in solution is very important to understand their behaviour and their mobility capacity to the vegetables grown on them. Sequential extraction procedure was used to speciate Cd, Pb and Zn from eleven locations from the cities of Lagos, Ibadan, Akure, Ikare, Ondo and Okitipupa in southern western Nigeria into seven operational defined geochemical species; available, carbonate, easily reducable, organic, amorphous Fe-Mn oxide, crystalline Fe-Mn oxide, and detrital (residual). All the metal investigated were significantly associated with non-residual fractions. The highest amounts of metals in non-residual fractions were found in organic fractions while the lowest were found in oxide species. The residual fractions contained on average 65 -66% for Pb, 8 -50% for Cd and 25 -29% for Zn. Assuming that mobility and bioavailability of these metals are related to the solubility of the geochemical forms and that the decrease in the order of extraction sequence, the potential bioavailability of these metals were: Cd > Zn > Pb. The mobility indexes of the metals correlated negatively and significantly with total contents of the metals. Correlation among species of each metal indicates a dynamic equilibrium between labile and non-labile forms of the non-residual fraction

Crop Water use Efficiency and Yield of Cowpea under varying Irrigation Schedule in a Derived Savannah

Efficient use of water resources can be made possible through the assessment of crop water requirements and proper scheduling of irrigation. This study determines the water use efficiency and yield of cowpea under varying irrigation schedule in a derived savannah region of Oyo State. The study was carried out in a screen house situated at Agricultural and Bio-Environmental Engineering Department of The Oke-Ogun Polytechnic, Saki (TOPS), Oyo State in South Western Nigeria. Surface soil samples from 0-15cm depth randomly collected for planting were taken to the laboratory for analysis to know the preliminary status of the soil before planting. Plant height, number of leaves and stem girth were measured as indicators for plant growth. The deviations between the average values of the growth parameters for the two irrigation frequencies were considered. One-way Analysis of Variance was also used to test for significant differences in the growth parameters for the two irrigation frequencies.Generally, growth parameters were better for 4-days irrigation interval during the sprouting and seedling stages but better for the 2-day irrigation interval between 3-8 weeks after planting. This may be due to the water needs of the plants for metabolism. Also, the crop yield and dry matter yield of the 2-day irrigation frequency were found to be better

Application of the Concept of Minimum Data Sets to Soil Quality Assessment for Crop Production in Southwestern Nigeria

Active carbon, potentially mineralizable nitrogen (PMN), pH, CEC, effective soil depth, aggregate stability and bulk density qualified as MDS for soil quality assessment of tree crops while active carbon, PMN, pH, CEC, aggregate stability, available phosphorus and bulk density qualified for arable crops. Under tree crops, soil quality indices with 12 indicators and MDS ranged from 63– 87% and 61–86%; and 60–72% and 61–71% under arable crops. Relationship between indices of the two sets of indicators shows high positive correlation (r = 0.83 and 0.74 for tree and arable crops respectively). With the concept of MDS in place, soil quality assessment will be less costly and therefore more affordable for farmers

Comparison of qualitative and quantitative approaches to soil quality assessment for agricultural purposes in South-western Nigeria

There has been a major challenge on how to develop soil quality standards to assess changes which are practical and useful to farmers. This study assesses soil quality using qualitative and quantitative indicators and established the relationship between the two methods of assessment. Two locations (farmer’s fields) were chosen for the study in each of three states (Oyo, Osun and Ekiti) in south-western Nigeria. In each of the farmlands, soil quality was assessed qualitatively on the field using soil health cards for visual indicators produced by natural resources conservation services of United State Department of Agriculture, and quantitatively by laboratory analysis of measured properties. The values of indicators by each of the methods of assessment were separately integrated into quantitative index using soil management assessment framework. The relationship between qualitative and quantitative methods was established using correlation analysis at α0.05. Qualitative soil quality index ranged from 65 to 90%. Quantitatively, the indices ranged from 64 to 87%. Significant positive relationships (r = 0.64 to 0.93) exist between qualitative and quantitative methods. From the results, the two methods can be used interchangeably for soil quality assessment but where fund is limiting as with peasant farmers, the qualitative approach is preferable

Soil Quality Assessment for Sustainable Land Use and Management

Tropical soils are generally fragile and hence highly degraded due to such factors as low organic matter content, dominance of low activity clay, high susceptibility to erosion etc. Coupled with this, there is population pressure on the limited land and this has become a great challenge for land management and agricultural production. It is therefore imperative to adopt science-based and efficient approach for monitoring the impact of land use on land resources. This study has assessed soil quality under two land use types to establish the effect of land use on soil quality and demonstrate the kind of assessment necessary to arrest land degradation before it progresses too far. It was conducted within Oluyole Local Government Area in Oyo State, Southwestern Nigeria under two agricultural land use types (cacao and maize). For each of the two land uses, two farmlands were chosen for the study. In each of the farmlands, five sampling points were located and soil samples were collected at 0 – 15 cm and 15 – 30 cm depths. The samples were processed and analyzed for selected indicators, following standard methods. Soil quality was assessed using Soil Management Assessment Framework. Sustainability assessment was carried out on a scale of < 20 (highly sustainable) to > 40 (not sustainable) - i.e. ‘less is better’. The relationship between soil quality and sustainability was established using regression analysis. Soil quality index was 85 – 87% under cacao and 60 – 77% under maize. Sustainability index ranged from 14 – 19 (highly sustainable) under cacao to 25 – 28 (moderately sustainable) under maize. High positive linear relationship (R2 = 0.86 and 0.94) was obtained between soil quality and sustainability. The results thus indicate that the land use and management systems in the farms studied are sustainable, although the arable land use requires closer monitoring. &nbsp

Use efficiency of tropical rainforest soils of southwestern Nigeria as affected by agronomic practices

Tropical soils generally have extremely delicate nature and lack resilience to recover once degraded. This is aggravated with increase in demographic pressure on land which has led to continuous and intensive cultivation of the land. With soil quality information, management options can be developed so as to improve the capacity of the soil to function within various ecosystem boundaries. This paper comprises of results of five experiments and it is a review of efforts made by the soil quality team of the Institute of Agricultural Research and Training, Nigeria, to identify physical, chemical and biological soil attributes that can serve as useful indicators in assessing the effects of management on soil quality. Five experiments were conducted by the team to assess effects of continuous cultivation, tillage practices, cropping systems and land use (tree versus arable crops) on soil quality. Our findings show that soil quality is aggraded, degraded or sustained, depending on the type of use and management options. Conventional management methods degraded soil quality indicators while farmers’ traditional practices minimize soil quality degradation. It is recommended that farmers’ practices that will protect sensitive soil quality indicators are panacea to soil quality management in forest ecology of the tropics.Keywords: Soil quality, management options, forest ecology, indicators, degradatio