Effect of pH on Soil Chemical Properties and Maize Performance in Abakaliki, Nigeria

Background: Low soil productivity in Nigeria and Africa sub sahara is considered as one of the major causes of food insecurity and under nutrition. This area is considered among the most regions affected by acidity on soil nutrients optimization. Despite of its severity, there is limited knowledge about limiting effect of pH on nutrients availability and maize yield in the state. Evolving a technology that does not depend on traditional system of amendment for pH assessment for increased soil productivity must first of all go through a good knowledge of the nature and distribution of soil studied. The present study aimed to evaluate three pH (4, 7 and 9) values on soil chemical properties in the state and assess maize performance under these conditions in order to control and manage pH related problems. Methods: In the field-laboratory investigation during 2018-2019 at different localities of Ebonyi State were surveyed. Three sampling localities were selected based on geographical situation, climate and local condition. In the laboratory, the soil samples of natural stock collected were processed for mean pH values and confirmed with pH meter using standard laboratory method. Maize was used as test crop to assess effect of pH on its performance. Result: Our investigations in Ebonyi State have allowed us to inventory three pH values. Among the inventoried pH values, some are regarded adverse for soil productivity. The implication of soil pH on nutrients availability and maize performance was discussed. The current work will be a complementary contribution of detailed study of effect of pH on soil productivity.

Impact of Soil Chemical Properties on the Growth Promotion Ability of Trichoderma ghanense, T. tomentosum and Their Complex on Rye in Different Land-Use Systems

Microbial-based biostimulants that increase plant performance and ensure sustainable restoration of degraded soils are of great importance. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the growth promotion ability of indigenous Trichoderma ghanense, T. tomentosum and their complex on early rye seedlings in sustained grassland and arable soil. The impact of soil chemical properties on the ability of selected Trichoderma strains and their complex to promote plant growth was determined by the evaluation of the rye (Secale cereale L.) early seedling growth—measuring the length of shoots and roots as well as their dry weight. Trichoderma species were tested for their ability to produce extracellular degradative enzymes on solid media. Furthermore, the soil properties and CM-cellulase activity of soil were estimated. The indigenous Trichoderma strains possess the capacity to produce enzymes such as peroxidase, laccase, tyrosinase, and endoglucanase. The results indicated a significant (p < 0.05) increase in plant growth and the improvement of some soil chemical properties (total N, mobile humic and fulvic acids, exchangeable K2O, soil CM-cellulase activity) in inoculated soils when compared to the control. The growth of the roots of rye seedlings in sustained grassland was enhanced when T. tomentosum was applied (p = 0.005). There was an increase in total weight and shoot weight of rye seedlings when T. ghanense was used in the arable soil (p = 0.014 and p = 0.024). The expected beneficial effect of Trichoderma spp. complex on rye growth promotion was not observed in any tested soil. The results could find application in the development of new and efficient biostimulants, since not only do physiological characteristics of fungi play an important role but also the quality of the soil has an impact.

Soil Chemical Properties and Fire Severity Assessment Using VNIR Proximal Spectroscopy in Fire-Affected Abandoned Orchard of Mediterranean Croatia

This paper aims to evaluate the ability of VNIR proximal soil spectroscopy to determine post-fire soil chemical properties and discriminate fire severity based on soil spectra. A total of 120 topsoil samples (0–3 cm) were taken from 6 ha of unburned (control (CON)) and burned areas (moderate fire severity (MS) and high fire severity (HS)) in Mediterranean Croatia within one year after the wildfire. Partial least squares regression (PLSR) and an artificial neural network (ANN) were used to build calibration models of soil pH, electrical conductivity (EC), CaCO3, plant-available phosphorus (P2O5) and potassium (K2O), soil organic carbon (SOC), exchangeable calcium (exCa), magnesium (exMg), potassium (exK), sodium (exNa), and cation exchange capacity (CEC), based on soil reflectance data. In terms of fire severity, CON samples exhibited higher average reflectance than MS and HS samples due to their lower SOC content. The PCA results pointed to the significance of the NIR part of the spectrum for extracting the variance in reflectance data and differentiation between the CON and burned area (MS and HS). DA generated 74.2% correctly classified soil spectral samples according to the fire severity. Both PLSR and ANN calibration techniques showed sensitivity to extract information from soil features based on hyperspectral reflectance, most successfully for the prediction of SOC, P2O5, exCa, exK, and CEC. This study confirms the usefulness of soil spectroscopy for fast screening and a better understanding of soil chemical properties in post-fire periods.

The relationship Between Soil Chemical Properties and Uptake of Tea Plant Nutrient in PTPN VI Jambi

Healthy soil could support plant growth by optimizing the availability of nutrients. The availability of nutrients influences the health of tea plants. Nutrient deficiencies would affect the plant physiology that exhibits the plant withering. This study aimed to define the relationship between soil nutrient availability with plant nutrient uptake. This research was conducted by managing secondary data soil chemical properties, and tea plant nutrients analyzed statistically with Pearson correlation. This study only found a significant correlation between soil pH with P and Mg uptake. Correlation results between soil nutrient and plant nutrient uptake obtained a significantly negative correlation on soil pH with P and Mg nutrients with a correlation value of pH-P (r=-0.52), pH-Mg (r=-0.52). There was no correlation between other soil nutrients and plant nutrient uptake. The results of this study can be used to determine the dose of fertilization and the management recommendation of tea plants.

Effect of Organic Fertilizer Form and Dosage on Soil Chemical Properties, Leaf Macro Nutrient Content and Vegetative Growth of Siamese Orange (Citrus nobilis Lour) seedlings

Orange is a national superior commodity that has an important role in increasing foreign exchange for the country. However, the development of citrus cultivation in Indonesia is still relatively low, probably due to soil fertility degradation. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze the effect of differences in the application of organic fertilizer (form and dose) and their interaction on soil chemical properties, nutrient concentration in the leaf (i.e. N, P, K), and growth in Siamese citrus seedlings. The treatments included the application of a combination of forms and doses of organic fertilizer, namely SD1 (powder dose 2 t ha-1), SD2 (powder dose 4 t ha-1), SD3 (powder dose 6 t ha-1), SD4 (powder dose 8 t ha-1), SD5 (powder dose 10 t/ha), GD1 (granule dose 2 t ha-1), GD2 (granule dose 4 t ha-1), GD3 (granule dose 6 t/ha), GD4 (granule dose 8 t ha-1) and GD5 (granule dose 10 t ha-1). The results showed that there was a significant difference in the interaction between form and dose of organic fertilizer only in the number of primary branches at 4 WAP (weeks after application) with the highest values was found in powder organic fertilizer at a dose of 8 t ha-1 and granules organic fertilizer at a dose 10 t ha-1. In addition, the application of powder organic fertilizer application had a higher plant height at 10-12 WAP as compared to the application of granule organic fertilizer.

Effect of application compost and vermicompost from market waste on soil chemical properties and plant growth

This study was conducted to determine the effect of compost and vermicompost from market organic waste on the soil chemical properties and the growth of maize. The treatments tested were three doses of compost (2.5, 5, and 10 t/ha), three doses of vermicompost (2.5, 5, and 10 t/ha), and one control (without compost or vermicompost). At the time of harvest (10 weeks after planting), maize shoot dry weight, root dry weight, cob length, cob diameter, cob with husk, and cob dry weight, as well as the soil chemical properties organic carbon (C), total nitrogen (N), total phosphorus (P), available P, total potassium (K), and pH were observed. Maize plant height, leaf number, and stem diameter were observed at 2, 4, 6, and 8 weeks after planting. The results showed that the application of compost and vermicompost significantly affected soil chemical properties and the yield of maize. The application of 10 t vermicompost/ha resulted in the highest yield of maize and highest increase of soil organic carbon, total phosphorus available phosphorus, total potassium, and pH by 7.21%, 112.41%, 287.44%, 85.44% and 17.58%, respectively. The application of 10 t compost/ha resulted in the highest increase of soil total N by 44%.

The Relationship between Differences of Slope Class with Soil Chemical Characteristics in Jolotigo Tea Plantation Scope of PTPN IX

Tea plantations are mostly more suitable to be cultivated in areas with highland characteristics to get its’ subtropical climate which is great for the growth of tea. This requirement showed that tea plantations are also cultivated in areas with different ranges of slope and this condition could affect soil chemical properties such as soil nutrient content, including soil pH, soil organic carbon (SOC) and contents of N, Available P, K and Mg inside the soil. This study was conducted to analyze the correlation on different slope levels with soil nutrient contents by collecting the secondary data of land slope and soil chemical properties, analyzed statistically with a simple correlation method. The result showed there was no significant correlation between the slope levels and contents of soil chemical properties. Most of the soil chemical properties have a negative correlation to different slope gradients such as soil pH (r = -0.391), SOC (r = -0.348), total N ( r = -0.169), Available P (r = - 0.039), K content (r = -0.135), Mg content (r = -0.027). where the highest levels of nutrients were found at the lowest level of slope based on the site data. Soil chemical properties are needed to be considered in many tea plantations with different levels of slope and could be used as a recommendation in planning for conservation or restoration of degraded land or soil.