Evaluation of Soil Micronutrients in Madagali Local Government Area of Adamawa State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study was carried out to evaluate soil micronutrients in Madagali Local Government area. The importance of micronutrients in plant nutrition is high, and they should not be neglected, although they are needed in minor quantities. Twenty (20) soil samples from each selected five wards were collected which gave a total of one hundred samples used for the study. The collected soil samples were analyzed in the laboratory using appropriate methods and were subjected to descriptive statistics to ascertain their variability across the study area. Based on the laboratory outcome, iron was high with the mean values 5.11mg/kg and 4.86mg/kg for surface and sub-surface, while molybdenum was low with the mean of 0.06mg/kg and 0.04mg/kg. On the other hand, molybdenum (Mo) had the highest which was 75.6% coefficient of variation, while iron (Fe) had the lowest percentage of 30.27% coefficient of variation for surface soils. In sub-surface, manganese (Mn) had the highest percentage value which stood at 59.28% while zinc had the lowest percentage of 28.42% coefficient of variation. To achieve maximum crop production in the study area, it was recommended that addition of organic matter, liming and proper soil management practices should be adopted.