Assessment of surface water quality of inland valleys for cropping in SW Nigeria

Abstract

Inland valley agro-ecosystems which are a category of wetlands have potential for sustainable crop production relative to uplands. A major challenge to their utilisation in the study area is their heterogeneity in hydrology, morphology, soil types and agro-economy. The study assessed the surface water quality of three typologies of the agro-ecosystems-amphitheatre-like valley-heads (Am), valley-side (VS), and low depression (LD)-for cropping. Surface water of six sites were sampled during the wet and dry seasons. The physicochemical properties and metal concentrations of the samples were analysed. Descriptive statistics and water quality indices were used to assess the suitability of the waters of the agro-ecosystems for cropping. Results showed that the valleys have neutral to slightly alkaline waters. Values of physicochemical parameters are generally within the acceptable range for cropping. The concentration of major cations varied across the inland valley types, but exhibited similar characteristics within each valley. The dominance of the major cations is in the order of Na [ Ca [ K [ Mg. ANOVA results indicated that there is no significant difference in the concentration of heavy metals across the valleys (F = 2.044, p = 0.138, a = 0.05). Generally, most of the physicochemical parameters and trace metals have low concentrations and are non-toxic to plants. Values of water quality indices (sodium adsorption ratio, soluble sodium percentage, total dissolved solids and permeability index) indicated that the concentrations of minerals in waters across the valley typologies are generally within permissible limits for cropping.

Water quality assessment of Kusheshwar Asthan wetlands: recognizing its hydrogeochemical variability and suitability for agriculture use

“…During the post-monsoon, the range of EC was 101.50 μs/cm to 222.39 μs/cm, which is lesser than the pre-monsoon range. The dilution due to precipitation and run-off is a describing factor behind the lesser EC during the post-monsoon period (Aboyeji & Ogunkoya 2017). The trend corroborates with the study of Gupta et al (2021) in Kabar taal and Mayanglambam & Neelam (2022) in Loktak lake.…”

Study on hydrochemical characterization and annual changes of surface water quality for agricultural and drinking purposes in semi-arid area

“…When water with high Cland Na ? concentrations is used for irrigation, many plants suffer from toxicity and retardation in growth, resulting in yield reduction (Seth et al 2014;Aboyeji and Ogunkoya 2015).…”

Quality of Water for Irrigating Urban Vegetable Farms: An assessment of Toxic and Essential Metals in Water from an Urban Lake

“…Our earlier study (at the same data in respect of the microbial safety (bacterial quality) of these vegetables and the water from a lake used for their irrigation [6]. In following with a preventative approach [7,8],which is , particularly to avert the rejection of the vegetables of these small holder low income farmers on the export markets, we extended our study by evaluating water from this lake, as to whether its toxic metal as well as the essential element contents were less than the FAO maximum recommended concentration for irrigation water; Noting that concentrations of toxic metals such as Pd, Cd and Cr in foods, beyond certain limits, have proven detrimental to human health [1,[10][11][12].…”