It is believe that a better understanding of agricultural soil environment is a key to better soil quality and high crop yield. Understanding the soil problems would certainly leads to solutions on how to tackle them. However, this could not only serve as a part of soil management but also as a part of economic development. For instance, when mother is healthy and fertile, there is more expectation from her to provide healthy and quality produce but when there is deficiency in any of the elements (either macros or micros elements), her produce may also affected, hence increasing poverty and hunger. High quality and fertile soil always provide better condition for the growth and development of plants (right from seed germination up to the maturity stage). Example, deficiency in N, P, and K in soil might lead to several problems to growing plant in a particular soil environment. These problems may include poor germination, stunting, and defoliations of plants, late maturity and also susceptible to both pest and disease attack leading to poor yield of the crops. Therefore, understanding soil environment is a key to high yield of crop production in the north-west one of northern Nigeria.
At a glance
- Classifies north-western Nigerian agricultural soils as dryland Aridisols and fadama Vertisols
- Distinguishes three farming systems described in research on northern Nigeria
- 42 sources in the bibliography
Contents
Summary
1.0 Introduction
2.0 Soil environment in north-western Nigeria
2.1 Key soil types and environmental soil conditions
2.2 Key Crops growing and farming system
2.3 Environmental soil problems
2.3.1 Soil Erosion and causal Agents
2.3.2 Desertification
Conclusion remarks
Objectives and Themes
This synopsis brings together existing information on agricultural soils in north-western Nigeria. It asks how soil characteristics, farming practices and degradation processes relate to soil quality and crop production in the region.
- Dryland and seasonally flooded fadama soils
- Soil texture, water retention and nutrient availability
- Regional crops and farming systems
- Soil erosion, nutrient depletion and desertification
- Approaches to sustainable soil management
Excerpt from the Book
2.1 Key soil types and environmental soil conditions
The key soil type in the north-west zone of northern Nigeria can be physically classified according the agricultural site as Aridisols in dryland site and Vertisols in fadama site (USDA, 1975). The dryland Aridisols are characterised as slowly permeable and most of the water is lost by run-off (Fitzpatrick, 1980). They might also have been formed under aridity from wind stored desert sands that accumulated over long period of time when the Sahara desert encourage several kilometres south of its present limits (Adegbola, 1979). The fadama soils in contrast, hold more water within the very-tight textural pores and have low run-off. They might have formed under flood plain nature covered largely with alluvial textural particles.
In addition, the dryland soils in the north-west zone might be also qualified to ferruginous tropic soils (D’Hoore, 1964); these ferruginous tropic soils can be characterised by having high sandy textural particles covering large areas of land, very low water holding capacity and low organic matter, low nitrogen content, low available phosphorus, neutral or moderately acid in pH (Jones and Wild, 1975). Thus, their ability to hold nutrients for plant growth in this circumstance is also very week.
Physically, the vegetation is usually spare and the surface is bare for long period. In essence, this may have contributed a lot to soil degradation by wind erosion, causing soil fertility decline in the zone. However as a matter of fact, this is one of the contributing factors to great soil environmental problem under agricultural condition in the north-west zone of northern Nigeria; and also making greater support to land degradation, which is also a worldwide phenomenon.
Physically, in north-west zone of Nigeria agricultural soils are degrading year after year. For example, the majority of millet farmers in Kebbi and Sokoto States are experiencing this problem as a result of annual decreased production. Soils in these two States as well as in other parts of the region such as Kano States are unsustained and have less ability to support sustainable agricultural development (e.g. Harris, 2000). This problem may be attributed to unsustainable human activities on the land due to continuous cultivation or by erosion, leaching, and nutrients depletion, and or as a result of poor management. Eswarran (2001) reported that land degradation in arid, semi arid and dry areas of sub humid is resulting from various factors including climate variation and human activities. Thus, soil environment must be maintained in their natural state for the increase of agricultural production particularly for the growth of millet, cowpea and groundnut, as there are combinations of land degradation mechanisms occurring physically in the zone.
Chapter Summaries
Summary: The opening overview links soil quality and nutrient availability to crop growth and agricultural production in north-western Nigeria.
1.0 Introduction: The introduction outlines the benefits of soils and the pressures affecting them, and states the purpose of the synopsis.
2.0 Soil environment in north-western Nigeria: The main chapter describes the region’s dryland and fadama soils, crops and farming systems. It also discusses nutrient loss, erosion and desertification.
Conclusion remarks: The closing section reiterates the importance of soil management and lists practices for agricultural production in the region.
Keywords
agricultural soil, north-western Nigeria, soil quality, dryland soils, fadama, Aridisols, Vertisols, soil fertility, soil erosion, desertification, nutrient depletion, farming systems, soil management
Frequently Asked Questions
What is this work about?
It is a synopsis of the agricultural soil environment in north-western Nigeria and the pressures affecting soil quality and crop production.
What are its central themes?
The work addresses soil types, water and nutrient availability, crops, farming systems, land degradation, erosion and desertification.
What is its primary objective?
Its stated objective is to provide a short reference on existing information about the soil environment of north-western Nigeria.
What scientific method does the author use?
The author synthesizes existing literature and cited reports in a descriptive synopsis.
What does the main chapter cover?
It describes regional soils and farming practices before examining soil degradation, erosion and desertification.
Which keywords characterize the work?
Key terms include agricultural soil, north-western Nigeria, fadama, soil fertility, erosion, desertification and sustainable soil management.
How are dryland and fadama soils classified?
The work describes dryland soils as Aridisols and fadama soils as Vertisols, and discusses their contrasting water and texture characteristics.
Which farming systems are discussed?
The author discusses intensive, less intensive and extensive systems, as well as rotation and multiple cropping.
- Quote paper
- PhD Student Suleiman Usman (Author), 2013, Agricultural Soil Environment, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/208742
