Baseline fertility status of a gravelly Alfisol in a derived savannah agro-ecological zone of Nigeria

Abstract

Farmers have not tested their soils for nutrient status and therefore are unaware of the fertility status of their soils. Therefore, a baseline fertility survey of 50 hectares of land of a gravelly Alfisol in the Teaching and Research Farm of Landmark University, Omu-Aran, Kwara State, Nigeria was carried out with a view to identifying soil health constraints and site-specific sustainable land management practices for optimizing crop production. Standard field protocols and laboratory analytical procedures were employed for all sample parameters measured. Results show that the soil textural classes vary from sand to loamy sand, exchangeable acidity, Ca, Mg, K, and Na and the effective cation exchange capacity has the surface and subsurface soil values of 0.0–0.92 and 0.00–0.89 cmol kg−1, 1.6–7.7 and 2.0–5.8 cmol kg−1, 1.2–11.5 and 0.7–8.0 cmol kg−1, 0.09–0.33 and 0.09–0.43 cmol kg−1, 0.0–0.16 and 0.04–0.16 cmol kg−1, 7.2–12.10 and 0.9–12.5 cmol kg−1, respectively. P values lie in the ranges of 2.5–68.9 mg kg−1 and 2.0–37.7 mg kg−1 in the surface and subsurface soils, respectively, organic C values were 0.86–2.81% and 0.68–3.49%, respectively, in the surface and subsurface soils while the values of N were 0.12–0.61% in the surface and 0.11–0.56% subsurface soils. Land evaluation shows that the soils of the project site are very fragile and poor in native fertility. Compound fertilizers low in nitrogen contents but high in phosphorus and potassium are recommended for gravelly Alfisol in a derived savannah ecological zone of the Kwara State, Nigeria to avoid a nutrient imbalance that may create artificial deficiencies of otherwise adequate nutrient elements.

Combined lime and biochar application enhances cowpea growth and yield in tropical Alfisol

“…The soil pH at both sites was strongly acidic, a characteristic of soils found in the Nigerian savanna (see Table 1 ). This aligns with Adegbite et al's 27 findings that Nigerian savanna soils have low organic matter and chemical fertility. The initial low cation exchange capacity (CEC) was attributed to the increased acidity (Al + H) of the sites before the experiment began.…”

Soil productivity improvement under different fallow types on Alfisol of a derived savanna ecology of Nigeria

“…This state of the soil is characteristic of Nigerian savanna soils. Adegbite et al. (2020) reported that Nigeria's savanna soils are low in organic matter and chemical fertility.…”

“…In Nigeria's agro-ecological zone, the derived savanna ecological zone is the zone that evolved from the rain forest by human activities such as regular fire, deforestation, and farming ( Adekiya et al., 2018 ). Only a few fire-tolerant trees are found and the area can advance to the forest if communal burning is stopped ( Adegbite et al., 2020 ). Among other crops, legumes like groundnut ( Arachis hypogaea ), soybean ( Glycine max ), cowpea ( Vigna unguiculata ) and bambara groundnut ( Voandzeia subterranean ), and pigeon pea ( Cajanus cajan are common.…”

Response of Soil Microbial Community (Bacteria and Fungi) to Organic and Inorganic Amendments Using Tomato as a Test Crop

“…Presence of few medium- sized pebbles and quartz stones on the surface. No evidence of salt and alkali present (Adegbite et al, 2020; Adekiya et al, 2022).…”

“…There is a need to study the response of soil microorganisms to some soil organic amendments since soil microorganisms are important energy transformers and nutrient regulators in agro-ecosystems. This research therefore aimed at assessing the response of the soil microbial community (bacteria and fungi) to some organic and inorganic soil amendments in an alfisol (the mapping units had accumulation of clay in the B-horizon (argillic B-horizon) and base saturation by NH 4 OAc at pH 7.0 > 50% (Adegbite et al, 2020;Adekiya et al, 2022)) soils cropped with tomatoes. This will confirm the sustainability of the use of the studied organic materials in agriculture as biofertilizer, noting the significant roles soil microorganisms play in nutrient cycling and availability.…”