Trace Elements in Soil of Farming Communities of Jigawa State, Nigeria
Keywords:
Savannah, Elements, Analysis, Farming, Activation, farmingAbstract
The savannah soils especially the ferrallitic and ferruginous types have peculiarities associated with soil color, texture, parent-rock formations that make them unique. Investigation is carried out on trace elements in soil of some farming communities of Jigawa State, Nigeria. The aim is to examine the accurate nutrients removal and replacement, crop production statistics and soil analysis that result will help the producer manage fertilizer applications to grow good crops. Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA) is used to determine five essential elements (Cl, Fe, K, Mg, Mn) useful in plant nutrition and several others commonly found in association in the soil mineralogy of savannah region of Nigeria. Trace elements concentration determined from the three farming communities’ shows that the soils are acidic. But they are rich in essential elements such as Chlorine, iron, potassium, manganese and magnesium. The three farming communities lack calcium. Therefore, the soils need to be neutralizing by adding lime to it. The farmers need to add fertilizers in order to get a good yield from their farms.
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