Soil properties as influenced by crop residue management practice at Minna, Niger State, Nigeria.

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted at the Teaching and Research Farm, Federal University of Technology, Minna, in the Southern guinea savanna agro-ecological zone of Nigeria. The treatments consisted of method of crop residue application (surface application and incorporation) and rate of application (0, 10 and 15 t/ha), laid out in a randomized complete block design and replicated four times. Maize (Oba Super 1 variety) was used as the test crop. Soil samples were randomly collected at 0 – 15 and 15 – 30 cm depths after crop harvest. Soil physical and chemical properties were determined. Data collected were subjected to analysis of variance at 0.05 level of significance. Results obtained from this study indicated that incorporation of crop residue resulted in significantly (P ≤ 0.05) higher soil total porosity, organic carbon, available phosphorus, exchangeable calcium, magnesium, potassium and sodium content than surface application. Also, soil chemical parameters increased significantly with rate of application of crop residue. Fifteen t/ha application rate gave rise to the highest soil organic carbon, available phosphorus, exchangeable calcium, magnesium, potassium and sodium contents, while zero residue treatment produced the lowest amount of the soil chemical parameters determined in this study. Combination of incorporation of crop residue and 15 t/ha application rate gave rise to highest soil exchangeable potassium and sodium content. Thus, it could be concluded that returning crop residues back to the soil, especially by incorporation, increases soil nutrient status, and has potential to increase crop growth and yield for sustainable food security.