Wet and Dry Season Effects on Select Soil Nutrient Contents of Upland Farms in North Bank Region of the Gambia
- 1 WASCAL Coordinating Secretariat, Federal University of Technology, Bosso Campus, Minna, Nigeria
- 2 School of Agriculture and Agricultural Technology, Federal University of Technology, Minna, Nigeria
- 3 School of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, University of the Gambia, Brikama Campus, Brikama, The Gambia
- 4 WASCAL Coordinating Secretariat, Federal University of Technology, Bosso Campus, Minna, Nigeria
- 5 WASCAL Coordinating Secretariat, Federal University of Technology, Bosso Campus, Minna, Nigeria
Abstract
The study was conducted in three villages of North Bank Region of the Gambia in 2013 and 2014. We examined wet and dry season effects on select soil nutrient contents of upland farms in North Bank Region of the Gambia. The objective was to evaluate changes in soil nutrient contents in both wet and dry seasons. Soil samples were collected from three RCBD upland fields with three replications at a depth of 0 - 15 cm and analyzed for pH, Soil Organic Carbon (SOC), and soil moisture content. The gravimetric method of moisture estimation was used. The results showed that soil moisture content, soil TN, and soil pH are significantly different (P < 0.05) during the two seasons. There was no significant difference in SOC between the two seasons in the study area. The study concluded that soil nutrients were more readily available during the wet season than during the dry season probably because there is more soil moisture available in the wet season that facilitates soil nutrient release. The study concludes that soil moisture has to be available in order for some select soil nutrients to be released for plant uptake.
- Sanchez, P.A., Shepherd, K.D., Soule, M.J., Place, F.M., Buresh, R.J., Izac, A.-M.N, et al. (1997) Soil Fertility Replenishment in Africa: An Investment in Natural Resource Capital. In: Buresh, R.J., et al., Eds., Replenishing Soil fertility in Africa, Soil Science Society of America Spec. Publ. 51. SSSA, Madison, 1-46.
- Yaffa, S. (2013) Coping Measures Not Enough to Avoid Loss and Damage from Drought in the North Bank Region of The Gambia. International Journal of Global Warming, 5, 467-482. http://dx.doi.org/10.1504/IJGW.2013.057286
- Downing, T.E. and Bakker, K. (2000) Drought Discourse and Vulnerability. Chapter 45. In: Wilhite, D.A., Ed., Drought: A Global Assessment, Natural Hazards and Disasters Series, Routledge Publishers, Abingdon.
- Keenan, S.P. and Krannich, R.S. (1997) The Social Context of Perceived Drought Vulnerability. Rural Sociology, 62, 69-88. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1549-0831.1997.tb00645.x
- Miller, A.J. and Cramer, M.D. (2004) Root Nitrogen Acquisition and Assimilation. Plant and Soil, 274, 1-36.
- Hopkins, W.G. (1995) Introduction to Plant Physiology. J. Wiley, New York.
- Wang, J.R., Hawkins, C.D.B. and Letchford, T. (1998) Photosynthesis, Water, and Nitrogen Use Efficiencies of Four Paper Birch (Betula papyrifera) Populations Grown under Different Soil Moisture and Nutrient Regimes. Forest Ecology and Management, 112, 233-244. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0378-1127(98)00407-1
- Parnes, R. (1990) Fertile Soil: A Grower’s Guide to Organic and Inorganic Fertilisers. agAccess, Davis, 190 p.
- Pieri, C.J.M.G. (1989) Fertility of Soils. A Future for Farming in the West African Savannah. Springer Verlag, Berlin.
- Swift, M.J., Seward, P.D., Frost, P.G.H., Qureshi, J.N. and Muchena, F.N. (1994) Long Term Experiments in Africa: Developing a Database for Sustainable Land Use under Global Change. In: Leigh, R.A. and Johnson, A.E., Eds., Long-Term Experiments in Agricultural and Ecological Sciences, Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International, Wallingford, England, 229-251.
- GBOS (2003) http://www.accessgambia.com/extra/gambia-bureau-of-statistics-gbos.html
- FAO (2002) Water Control Component of the Special Program for Food Security. TCP/GAM/2801 (D) Project Document.
- Sukristiyonubowo (2007) Nutrient Balances in Terraced Paddy Fields under Traditional Irrigation in Indonesia. Ph.D. Thesis. Ghent University, Ghent.