1Umar I.A. 2Magaji J.I., 2Mahmud Abubakar., 2Marcus N.D., 3Muntaka H.A. and 4Buji I.B.
1Federal Ministry of Agriculture & Food Security, Department of Farm Input and Support Services, Abuja, Nigeria
2Department of Geography, Faculty of Environmental Science, Nasarawa State University, Keffi.
3Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria Plot 22D Cadastral Zone B6 Mabushi, Abuja.
4Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria
*Corresponding author’s Email: ibrahimbuji84@gmail.com, doi.org/10.55639/607.020100131
ABSTRACT
Excess application of nutrients can lead to nutrient leakages to the environment resulting in adverse environmental impacts such as pollution of surface and groundwater. This study titled “Influence of site-specific and non-site-specific fertilizer application on soil fertility statuses of some farmlands in southern part of Nasarawa State’ was conducted with aim of analyzing soil fertility status in farmlands with two distinct fertilizer application methods. Laboratory analysis of soils was conducted to determine the key soil parameters. Multi-stage random sampling technique was adopted for this study. Three (3) LGAs (Doma, Obi and Awe) were selected to represent the study area. In each LGAs, three wards were selected for sample collection, making a total of Nine (9) wards (Alagye, Rukubi, Agbashi, Awe, Ribi, Tunga, Obi, Agwende, and Agyaragu). A total of 180 composite samples were collected for laboratory analyses across the three LGAs (90 from site-specific fertilizer application and another 90 from non-site specific fertilizer application farms). Soil samples were analyzed for physicochemical properties. From the results, site-specific farmlands showed consistently higher fertility than non-site-specific across the three LGAs. pH for site-specific across the three LGAs ranges between 5.83 to 6.21 which is between moderately acidic to slightly acidic ranges. Total N, P, K were generally medium–high in site-specific soils; OC/OM were high in Awe and Doma but low in Obi. Ca, Mg, Na were very low everywhere; base saturation was very high in Obi. Textures mostly were mostly sandy loam while Agyaragu was observed to have loamy sand texture. Site-specific fields were associated with higher nutrient levels (notably Awe and Doma). It is therefore recommended that extension-led farmer education be provided to enable efficient nutrient management in the study area.
KEYWORDS
Site-specific
fertilization,
Soil
fertility
status,
Nutrient
management,
Soil
physicochemic
al properties.