The study investigats the morphological, physical and chemical characteristic of a toposequence on basement complex in Ejioku area, southwestern Nigeria on latitude 07˚28.675'N; and longitude 004˚07.219'E; 180 m above sea level at the upper slope. It terminates at the valley bottom on latitude 07˚28.756'N; and longitude 004˚07.229'E; 175 m above sea level. The topography of the site is moderately slope (not greater than 10%). The aim is to examine the two forms of sesquioxides (crystalline-dithionite extractible Fe & Al and amorphous-oxalate Fe & Al) and their distribution on the toposequence. The crystalline form of Fe oxide dominates all the positions and ranges from 7.2 g/kg at the valley bottom to 444.3 g/kg at the crest compared to the amorphous forms that range from 2.7 g/kg to 10.9 g/kg. The crystalline and amorphous aluminium oxide contents of the soils are low (2.9 g/kg-43.3 g/kg and 1.3 g/kg-8.7 g/kg respectively). There is significant negative relationship between Fed and Fe d /Fe o (r = −0.15; P < 0.01; n = 16). There is also a correlation between Fe o and Al d (r = 0.63; P < 0.01; n = 16), Fe O and Fe O /Fe d (r = 0.44; P < 0.01; n = 16), signifying a high level of weathering. The relatively high amount of Fe d virtually at all the horizons indicates that the crystalline and less active forms of the oxides exist more on the landscape and may be responsible for the non-availability of some nutrient like phosphorus that may be sorbed to their crystals lattice. All forms of Al in the soils are low especially, the oxalate extractable forms, when compare with the dithionite extractable forms. However, there is a significant correlation between Al d and Fe o /Fe d (r = 0.57; P < 0.01). As a result of high accumulation of crystalline form of Fe and Al oxide with increasing depth, most especially, at the crest/upper slope, there is greater amount of concretions, nodules and plinthites which will lead to further deterioration of the soil for agricultural purposes.
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License Soil is the main reservoir of water and nutrients, and thus controls the availability of most essential plant nutrients for crop growth and establishment. Therefore, a study was conducted at
Harnessing the high macronutrient in poultry manure (PM) for enhanced biochar yield (BY) and quality through blending with Gmelina arborea sawdust (SD) or Tithonia diversifolia shoot (TD) at slow pyrolysis (350 °C) heating regimes (HRs) was the focus of this work. Twelve biochars were produced from SD and TD with or without PM at three slow pyrolysis HRs of 5, 10 and 20 minutes in completely randomized design with three replications. Dominant biochar parameters contributing to BY and ash content were reported. Results indicated PM spiking and HR significantly (p < 0.001) improved BY and nutrient quality irrespective of plant biomass type. The BY increased by 107% (5 min HR) and 79% (10 min HR) with PM spiking while ash content increased with increasing HR by 599 and 305% following PM spiking in TD and SD respectively. 20 and 10 minute HRs enhanced N and P contents in SD and TD biochar respectively. PM spiking and increasing HR from 10 to 20 minutes reduced biochar organic C by 159% in TD biochar. Reduced organic C, C/N and C/P dominantly influenced BY and ash content. PM when appropriately bulked with SD and TD produces higher BY and quality under slow pyrolysis condition.
ABSTRACT.A field work was carried out to investigate the extent to which selected soil chemical properties can influence weed species distribution. There were sixteen treatments of two factors (Fertilizer type and weeding regimes) laid out in RCBD. The treatments included four fertilizer types; no fertilizer (F1), inorganic fertilizer -NPK 15:15:15 applied at 100 kg NPK/ha (F2), organic fertilizer -phosphocompost applied at 2.5 t/ha and organomineral -50% NPK 15:15:15 plus 50% phosphocompost. Four weeding regimes: weedy treatment (W1), weeding once (W2), weeding twice (W3) and weed free (W4). Weed free and weed once significantly improved maize growth and yield parameter under inorganic and organomineral fertilizer types. Increasing soil pH, organic carbon and available phosphorus significantly reduced total weed biomass with plot that received no fertilizer been responsible for highest weed population. In organic fertilizer treatment significantly reduced soil pH from the initial 6.5 to 6.0 though, it combination with weed once or weed twice gave highest grain yield. Better nutrition (in terms of improved soil nutrient especially macro nutrient and organic carbon) when combined with weeding once can ascertain proper weed management and sustainable maize production. INTRODUCTIONThere are innumerable reports on the inhibitory effects of weeds on crop plants [1] and weeds can cause crop yield reduction up to 90% [2] Weeds compete with crops for nutrients, sunlight and other essential components in the environment required for good crop development and lead to yield reduction of the choice crop plant [3].A total of 263 weed species belonging to 38 families were found in crop fields in West Africa. Broad-leaved weeds (72%) and grasses (24%) dominated the total weed spectrum, whereas sedges (4%) were minor, weed species richness per field was similar across all agroecological zones and averaged about 16 per field [4]. Unweeded fields in Nigeria produced between 17 and 30 tons per hectare of fresh weed weight [5]. Weeds cause about $36 billion annual damage in the United States alone, unchecked, weeds effectively outcompete crops for resources and decrease the yield of food, feed, and fiber [6]. Weeds are persistent, adaptable, stress tolerant, competitive, and capable of extreme levels of reproduction More than 400 biotypes of weeds have evolved resistance to one or more of all the major groups of herbicides [7].A good understanding of how plants alter the soil ecosystem is critical to the management of crop-weed interactions and the consequent impacts of weed management practices on soil quality. Weeds are often perceived as exerting only negative effects on crop growth through competition for limiting soil nutrients, water, and light, thus necessitating management practices aimed at reducing these effects. While there is ample evidence to support this perception [8], there is also an increasing body of theory [9] and experimental evidence [10] suggesting that the specific characteristics of the weed community (i.e....
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