Soil Fertility Assessment of The Lugu Main Canal Of Wurno Irrigation Project, Sokoto State, Nigeria, Five Years After Rehabilitat ion.

Abstract

A study was conducted during the 2000/2001 irrigati on season to assess the soil fertility and the pattern of its variation with dep th in the Lugu main canal of Wurno Irrigation Proje ct. Soil samples were collected from four randomly chos en transects across the field at two sampling spots in each transect. The samples were taken at 0 - 15, 15 - 30 and 30 - 45 cm depths from each spot. Soil chemical properties such as pH, total N, available P, CEC and exchangeable bases were determined. The soils had average pH of 7.09, 6.92 and 6.87 at the 0-15, 15-30 and 30-45 cm depths, respectively. The CEC, available P, and total N wer e very low at all depths. CEC and total N decreased with depth. Ca and K were also very low w hile Mg was moderate at all depths. Na on the other hand, was high at the surface and moderate at lower depths. The % base saturation was high at all depths. The soils were low in fertility and nee d the adoption of proper management in terms of organic and inorganic fertilizer application and qu ality irrigation practices to resuscitate and susta in the soil fertility.