Classifying land based on its suitability for agriculture is crucial for agricultural development and future planning for food production.In this context, a land suitability assessment for rainfed maize varieties was conducted in Sakure and Nginda Payams of Nzara and Yambio counties, covering an area of 47,500 ha.The purpose of this assessment was to create a semi-detailed land suitability map (scale 1:100,000) using georeferenced soil survey data and spatial environmental data to assist agricultural development planners and decision-makers.The analytical hierarchy process was employed in ArcGIS to generate the land suitability map using the co-kriging method.The results indicated that 56% of the land was highly suitable, while 44% was moderately suitable for maize production.The most critical limiting factors for maize production included poor road conditions, distance from the main road, very low CEC (cation exchange capacity), and a decline in soil fertility, which has led to the practice of shifting cultivation.Based on these findings, it is recommended to conduct a detailed land suitability assessment at a scale of 1:25,000.Additionally, a study on farming systems should be carried out since mixed cropping is practiced in the area.
The Chari-Logone Basin (CLB), encompassing 610,000 km 2 as the hydrologically active segment of the Lake Chad basin, is the focal point of this study aiming to characterize the evolution of vegetation cover in response to rainfall.The primary focus relies on spatialized precipitation and NDVI data.Analysis of these spatial rainfall data reveals trends that predominantly align with a south-north gradient typical of the Sudano-Sahelian region, with the highest values observed in the southwestern part of the basin, coinciding with the direction of the monsoon flow into the area.The NDVI results depict spatial and seasonal changes, mirroring the seasonal variation in climate, particularly rainfall.In the Chari-Logone basin, the vegetation undergoes a gradual transition from Sudanian to Sahelian vegetation, with grasses predominantly forming at the end of the dry season and regenerating only after the onset of the first rains.
Nutrient leaching limits sustainable fertility management of tropical sandy soils. Therefore, phosphate leached from NPK 15:15:15 (NPK), sole compost (SC), phospho-compost (PC), poultry manure (PM), fresh Gliricidia sepium leaves (GL) and integrated (INTG) fertilizers applied at 40 kgP2O5 ha -1 and an unamended soil (AC) in leaching columns containing 2.5 kg soil were studied. Each soil was simulated for leaching at 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 weeks after cowpea seed sowing. Fertilizer application significantly reduced total leachate volume (TLV) over AC in the order of AC > SC > NPK > INTG > PC > GL > PM. Total phosphate leached (TPL) was the highest (1505.3 mg l -1 ) in GL followed by 436.5, 229.7, 69.0, 33.4, 30.5 and 0.0 mg l -1 from NPK, INTG, AC, PM, SC and PC, respectively. The PC, PM and INTG produced significantly higher dry shoot (DSW) and root (DRW) weights, N and P uptake. Cowpea grain weight (CGW) was significantly higher (2.42 g plant -1 ) in INTG over AC (0.99 g plant -1 ). Significant negative correlation was between TLV and DSW, CGW, N and P uptake and between TPL and soil available P, N and P uptake. Stabilized organic (PC and SC) and integrated fertilizers (INTG) are therefore suitable for reduced phosphate leaching in sandy soil.
For three years, the response of wheat grain yield to varying amounts of nitrogen fertilizer and different levels of irrigation was investigated. Three levels of irrigation (100, 75, and 50%ETc) and five nitrogen rates (0, 23, 46, 69, and 92 kg/ha) were used in a split plot design. Irrigation and nitrogen levels both had a considerable impact on wheat grain yield, but there was no interaction between the two. The three-year combined analysis result revealed that the maximum grain yield of wheat was recorded at 92 kg/ha nitrogen rate and 100%ETc irrigation treatment. The minimum was obtained from no application of nitrogen and 50%ETc irrigation treatment. The study revealed that the above ground biomass and grain yield of wheat increased with the increasing rates of nitrogen fertilizer and the full application of irrigation. The partial budget analysis revealed that an application of 100%ETc and 46 kg/ha nitrogen fertilizer gave the maximum marginal rate of return and optimum net benefits. Therefore, application of 100%ETc irrigation and 46 kg/ha nitrogen is recommended for optimum returns of irrigation and nitrogen fertilization of wheat in the study area. Key words: Nitrogen, Irrigation, Water use efficiency, partial budget, economic yield.
The steady production of Yuhebao lychee (Litchi chinensis Sonn.) is involved in accurate fertilization management. The critical period of nutrient requirement for Yuhebao lychee is during January to June every year in Taiwan because the period is from flowering to fruiting stage. It would serve the references of fertilization if there is an accurate standard for nutrient management of Yuhebao lychee. This study was conducted to establish the accurate standard of sampling period and location for nutrient diagnosis of Yuhebao lychee by analyzing essential nutrient elements of leaves from pre-anthesis to harvest stage. The leaves were sampled every month on middle of January to June for the estimation of leaf nutrients by inductively coupled plasma spectrophotometer (ICP). The results revealed that the appropriate sampling position and period of leaves should be from the leaves below flower spike during the flowering period. On the other hand, the mature leaves from either the branch of flowering or non-flowering terminal for nutrient management of Yuhebao lychee is recommended. Key words: Agricultural management, climate variations, lychee, nutrient diagnosis.
Field trials were conducted to examine the responses of Cassava, Maize and Pepper to fertilizers in the alleys of 3, 4 and 6 years oil palm fields. Fertilizers: NPK (1.44 kg/plot), Ferti Plus (9.68 kg/plot) and poultry manure (6.17 kg/plot) were applied two weeks after planting. Results showed that fertilizers significantly influenced N uptake and some indicators of N use efficiencies measured. NPK enhanced uptake and apparent recovery of N and Ferti Plus (organo-mineral fertilizer) and poultry manure promoted agronomic and physiological efficiencies of N use. Uptake and yields of N were higher for sole crops compared with intercrops across the fertilizers. Cassava and maize had enhanced N removed at harvest, Internal utilization efficiency (IE) and apparent recovery efficiency (RE), and pepper had higher IE, Apparent Recovery Efficiency (RE), Agronomic and Physiological Efficiency (PE) of N use. Age of oil palm fields and fertilizers influenced nutrient uptake and use efficiencies of the alley intercrop species. Nitrogen uptake and use efficiencies were highest for 4 and 6 years compared with the 3 years old fields across the intercrop species. NPK and Ferti Plus had higher efficiencies of uptake and use of N compared with poultry manure across the ages of oil palm fields. It is concluded that, alley intercrop species differed in uptake and use efficiencies of N. The alleys of oil palm of 1 to 6 years supported the performance of intercropped arable species and fertilizers enhanced soil nutrients and crop yields. Key words: Alley, oil palm, arable, resources, fertility, uptake, use, efficiency, yield.
In the traditional cropping systems of Benin Republic, soybean is mostly cultivated with no mineral fertilizer supply, despite the decrease of soil fertility. Furthermore, there is no specific fertilizer available for the crop, in spite of its cash crop character. This leads to weak crop yield in the farmers' fields. The present study aims to determine the optimal doses of each N, P, K, Mg and Zn nutrient to improve soybean production in the Sudano-Guinean and Sudanian zones of Benin Republic. Two years (2018 and 2019) experiment has been carried out in Ouessè district (Sudano-Guinean zone) and Bembèrèkè district (Sudanian zone). Box and Behnken rotating design was used to define N, P, K, Mg and Zn dose combinations leading to 46 combinations. A completely randomized block design was set up considering farmers as replication. In total four farmers' fields are selected. A one-way analysis of variance is made on the yield data, using the linear mixed-effect model. Response surface analyses are used to determine the optimal dose for each N, P, K, Mg and Zn. The supply of macronutrients combined with Zn, significantly (p = 0.001) improved the soybean grain and above biomass yields as well as the harvest index. The quadratic models were efficient (R² > 0.7) to estimate soybean grain yields considering the nutrient dose variation. The optimal N, P, K, Mg and Zn doses of 15.46, 23.20, 28.6, 16.8 and 6.9 kg.ha-1, respectively (for the Sudano-Guinean zone) and 14.02, 23.89, 17.82, 11.45 and 4.26 kg.ha-1, respectively (for the Sudanian zone) lead to an optimal seed yield of 2 t.ha-1 (that is, almost 2.2 times the yield in the farmers' field). The development of fertilizer formulas using these determined optimal doses would constitute a suitable technology helping to increase soybean production in both areas. Key words: Soil fertility, biofortication, Box and Behnken design, linear mixed-effect model, leguminous, response surface, micronutrient.
The study evaluated the fertility status of some land use types in Orlu area of Imo State using elemental ratio. Soil samples were collected from three land use types namely; plantain plantation, oil palm plantation and cassava. A total of 18 samples were collected. Six soil samples were randomly collected from each land use at depths of 0 - 15 cm and 15 - 30 cm. Routine analyses were conducted and Ca/Mg and K/Mg were used to determine the fertility status of the soils. The result of physical properties indicated that mean sand content of the soils ranged from 820.1 - 910.1 g/kg. The mean silt content of the soils ranged from 13.3 – 56.7 g/kg while the clay content ranged from 76.5 – 136.5 mg/kg. Bulk density was highest under oil palm (1.43 g/cm3) and lowest under cassava (1.10 g/cm3). The results of the chemical properties showed that mean pH varied from 5.0 – 5.7. Soil organic carbon was highest under plantain (16.9 g/kg) and lowest under oil palm (9.3 g/kg). Ca/Mg ratio was highest under plantain (1.78) and lowest under cassava (1.20). The K/Mg was highest under oil palm (0.14) and lowest under plantain (0.02). Ca/Mg ratio of the soils indicates possible Ca deficiency and phosphorus inhibition. The K/Mg ratio of the soils shows non inhibition of the uptake of magnesium Ca/Mg ratio varied highly under plantain and cassava but had medium variation under palm oil. There was significant negative relationship between K/Mg and Mg, ECEC, Ca, base saturation (BS) and available phosphorus (-0.85, -0.85, - 0.86, -0.77, and -0.47) respectively. Key words; Elemental ratio, soil fertility, land use, Imo state, southeastern Nigeria
A field experiment was conducted on acidic nitisols of Wolmera District in two locations at 2017 cropping season to determine the response of barley for the combined application of lime and different phosphorus fertilizers. Several barley growth performances, yield, and plant samples were collected with soil samples to determine soil acidity attributes and nutrient use efficiency. Barley grain yield and growth performances were significantly (P<0.05) affected by the application of different phosphorus sources. The highest grain yield was recorded from NPSB phosphorus fertilizer source in both experimental sites followed by partly acidulated rock phosphate (PARP) with yield improvement of 89 and 52%, over the control treatment respectively. Growth parameters like plant height, spike length, number of tillers, etc., and physical grain quality data (hectoliter weight and thousand seed weight) were significantly affected by all phosphorus sources. The combination of phosphorus fertilizer (NPSB at 69 kg P2O5 ha-1) with lime got a higher grain yield advantage over other treatments. The highest phosphorus concentration in the plant parts was recorded from the fertilizer source of NPSB. This was due to its immediate availability to the plant uptake compared to other sources. The use of partly acidulated rock phosphate or organic hyper-phosphate (MOHP) fertilizer, as an alternative for NPSB application provides a competitive yield advantage for acidic soils of Wolmera area or other similar soil type and agroecology of the country. Key words: Acid soil, food barley, lime, partly acidulated rock phosphate (PARP), organic hyper-phosphate (MOHP), NPSB, yield.
A detailed study on soil resources characterization based on the understanding of the soil system is not available at Dugda district. With the cognizance of this fact, the present study was conducted to characterize the morphological and physicochemical properties of soils, classify the soils according to World Reference Base for Soil Resources (WRB) of Argo-Gedilala Subwatershed in Dugda District of Oromia Regional State, Central Rift Valley of Ethiopia. Four slope classes were considered and one pedon was opened for each and described in the field on a standard description sheet for each slope category. Soil samples were collected from genetic horizons of each pedon for laboratory analysis of the selected physicochemical properties of the soils. The soils were classified into different Reference Soil Groups following the (WRB).The organic carbon (OC) content of the study area ranged from low to medium/moderate (0.64 to 1.83%). Total nitrogen (TN),available.phosphorus (Av.P), cation exchange capacity (CEC) and percent base saturation (PBS) of the soils were in the range of (0.066-0.135%), (2.24-4.81 mgkg-1), (39.52-43.52) cmol(+)kg-1) and (77.57- 89.8%), respectively. Accordingly, they were rated as low to medium, very low to low, high to very high and high to very high, respectively. The soil classification revealed that pedon 1 and pedon 2 were Cambic Chernic Phaeozems (Pantoclayic, Humic, Hypereutric); and pedon 4, Cambic Chernic Phaeozem (Pantoclayic, Humic); whereas, pedon 3 is found to be a kind of Luvic Phaeozem (Abruptic, Albic, Clayic, Differentic, Hypereutric). The soils of the study area had low organic matter, available P and total nitrogen content, which can be seen as production constraints of all cultivated lands. To overcome the identified limitations, increasing the organic matter levels through continuous application of manure. Key words: Genetic horizons, morphological properties, pedon, physicochemical properties, slope.
