FERTILITY ASSESSMENT OF SOILS UNDER RICE CULTIVATION IN KADAWA, GARUN, MALLAM LOCAL GOVERNMENT, KANO STATE

This research was conducted in Kadawa, Garun Mallam local government of Kano State with aim of assessing the fertility of soils under rice cultivation in the area. Ten (10) composite samples were randomly collected from the top (0-20cm) in the sites. The samples were analyzed for some soil fertility index parameters using standard routine laboratory tests. In addition, Mean values of soil parameter determined were computed so as to compare the results with the critical limits for interpreting levels of soil fertility. The findings indicated that the soil texture was generally sandy loam with brown colour. The soil was moderately acidic with mean pH values of 6.07 and 5.95 in water and CaCl2 respectively. The electrical conductivity (ECE) ranged from 0.027 to 0.2 dS/m with a mean of 0.097 dS/m. The total nitrogen (TN) ranged from 0.035 to 0.053% with a mean of 0.05%. The organic matter content (OM) ranged from 0.79 to 1.87% with a mean of 2.61%. The Available phosphorus (AP) ranged from 9.63 to 87.50ppm with a mean of 54.87ppm. Furthermore, The Exchangeable K ranged from 0.11 to 0.87Cmol/kg with a mean value of 0.24Cmol/kg and Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC) ranged from 5.0 to 11.0Cmol/kg with a mean of 7.57. it was recommended that organic manure and inorganic fertilizer should be applied to the soils in order to improve nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium levels