Effect of Different Manures and Rates of Application on the Chemical Properties of a Floodplain Soil, in North Western Nigeria

Application of manures at appropriate rates could sustain the chemical quality of floodplain soils under intensive continuous cultivation. Thus, a study was carried out at the Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto to assess the effect of different manures and rates of application on chemical properties of a floodplain soil in Sokoto, Northwestern, Nigeria. The treatments consist of three different manures (poultry droppings: PD, turkey droppings: TD and Quail droppings: QD), four rates of application (7.5 t ha-1, 15 t ha-1, 22.5 t ha-1 and 30 t ha-1) plus a control, replicated 3 times, which were arranged in a completely randomized design (CRD). The parameters determined include organic carbon (OC), total nitrogen (TN), available phosphorus (AP) and exchangeable bases. The results revealed that, different manures and rates of application significantly (p ≤ 0.05) influenced chemical properties of the soil, particularly OC, TN and AP contents of the soil. The PD and QD manures significantly (p ≤ 0.05) improved chemical quality of the soil, with best improvement observed in PD manure, while the 15 t ha-1 and 30 t ha-1 rates, were found to have best improvements in chemical properties of the soil. However, the 15 t ha-1 rate seems more viable as it produces similar effects as that of the 30 t ha-1 rate. It is therefore concluded that, application of 15 t ha-1 PD or QD has the capacity of improving the soil chemical quality under intensive agricultural crop production, and is thus recommended as a means of replenishing productivity of the soil in the study area.