Assessment of physicochemical properties of some cultivated floodplains in Ekiti State, Southwest Nigeria

Abstract

Crop productivity depends to a large extent on the physicochemical properties of soil on which it is grown because the later has direct relationship to the nutrient requirements and uptake of crops. Floodplains are notable for seasonal utilization to produce crops especially fruits and vegetables for our teeming population. However, the floodplains can be affected by rainfall/storm regime in a way that can impact nutrients availability negatively. It is on this premise that this research was conducted to investigate physicochemical properties of some floodplains in Ekiti State, Nigeria to ascertain their suitability for crop production. Soil samples (0-30 cm) were collected at 5 m, 25 m and 45 m perpendicular distance to each of the three river parts at upper, middle and lower portion of the river channel. The samples were air-dried, milled, sieved and subjected to physicochemical analyses using standard methods. The ranges of the physicochemical properties are pH (5.02-7.13), electrical conductivity (34.00-571.00 μS/cm), organic matter (0.14-3.77 %), nitrogen (0.03-1.47 %), Ca²⁺ (0.23-4.94 cmol/kg), Mg²⁺ (0.15-4.64 cmol/kg), Na⁺ (1.20-3.62 cmol/kg), K⁺ (2.15-19.75 cmol/kg), Al³⁺ (0.41-23.02 cmol/kg), H⁺ (0.34-28.71 cmol/kg) and CEC (9.53-65.32 cmol/kg). In general, the floodplains are slightly acidic with low organic matter content typical of West African sub-region, sandy loam with moderate cation exchange capacity. It is recommended that the floodplains under study be treated to reduce the exchangeable sodium percentage for better crop production. The acidic soils are also recommended to be limed in order to prevent the possibility of pollutants like heavy metals from entering into the food chain. Recommendations are made to improve the soils’ physicochemical condition for increased food production.