Evaluation Of Management Properties Of Wetland Soils Of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria For Sustainable Crop Production
SO Edem, BA Ndon
Abstract
Management properties of soils of three wetland types in Akwa Ibom State were investigated. The wetland types are Inland Valley, Flood plain and Mangrove. The soils had silt/clay ratios above 0.15 and 0.25 indicating that they are of young soils. The pH of the wet soils was very slightly acidic (>6.4) while that of the air-dried samples was extremely acidic (>3.5). This suggests that the soils are potential acid sulphate soils. Organic matter content values were high with mean of 12.59, 60.01, and 3.20 percent for Inland valley, Flood plain and mangrove soils respectively. Effective cation exchange capacity (ECEC) was below the >20 cmol/kg reported by FAO (1976) as indicative of high suitability of soil for crop production. There was negative and significant correlation between ECEC and pH in Flood plain soils (r= -0.76) and positive but non-significant correlation between ECEC and organic matter in all the wetland types. The soil had low base saturation (
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Journal of Applied Chemistry and Agriculture. ISSN: 1117-2894