Productivity of Degraded Ultisol in South-Eastern Nigeria Using Desurfacing Technique (DT) for Sustainable Agriculture

Abstract

Evaluation of the productivity of degraded Ultisol in Nsukka, South-Eastern Nigeria using Desurfacing Technique (DT) was carried out in 2002 and 2003 planting seasons using maize (Zea mays, variety; Oba Super II) as test crop. Desurfacing soil depths were 3 cm, 6 cm and 0 cm as control, while some soil characteristics, such as texture, bulk density, were used as measures of assessment of productivity. There were correlations between desurfacing depths and Leaf Area Index (LAI), plant height and seed yield in testing the predictive efficiencies of desurfacing technique (DT) in evaluating soil productivity. There were very significant correlations at P = 0.01, (r = 0.94, 0.96 and 0.94) between desurfacing depths and leaf area index (LAI), plant height and seed yield and P = 0.01 (r = 0.95, 0.94, and 0.94) between soil removal, and LAI, plant height and seed yield in poultry and meteorological sites respectively during the study periods. This shows that DT could be used in predicting the productive potential of degraded land on which management strategies for rehabilitating such degraded land can be used.

Keywords: Degradation, Soil Productivity, Predictive Model, Soil Properties, Soil Erosion-Productivity Relationship, Sustainable Agriculture, Productive Index.

International Journal of Agriculture and Development Vol. 9 2007: pp. 123-127