Abstract
Access to information on soil nutrients status and variability is essential in understanding the potential of soils and their responsiveness to management interventions in agriculture. The current study evaluated soil nutrients status in selected agroecological zones (AEZs) of Cameroon and identified variations and their adequacy for maize (Zea mays L.), sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. (Moench)), and cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) production. A total of 163 soil samples were collected from surface (0–15 cm) layer for the determination of pH, organic matter (OM), estimated nitrogen release (ENR), sulphur (S), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), potassium (K), sodium (Na), boron (B), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), aluminium (Al), phosphorus (P), total exchangeable capacity (TEC), and base saturations. The results showed different degrees of variability in soil nutrients ranging from low to very high in all the AEZs. The soils in all the AEZs were consistently deficient in available phosphorus, sulphur, boron, and zinc in varying proportion and might be inadequate to supply cultivated maize, sorghum, and cassava with the nutrients needed to achieve optimal growth. The soils were also prone to Mg-induced K deficiency, which could limit the growth of maize, sorghum, or cassava. These results therefore suggest that management of inherent soil properties should be based on-site specific situations.
Highlights
Environmental degradation is a worldwide problem caused by inappropriate cropping system and land-use and soil management practices and has attracted attention in sustainable agricultural production systems [1,2,3]
Soil fertility management cannot be fostered without an appropriate and rapid assessment of soil nutrients status so that decision makers and farmers can be aware of the soil fertility constraints and make informed decisions to International Journal of Agronomy improve crop yields and better manage soil nutrients [14]
Sudano-Sahelian (AEZ 1) with maize, millet-sorghum, groundnut, rice, cowpea, soybean, onion, sesame, fruits, and cotton as the main crops produced is made up of low altitude plain, many of which are flooded during the rainy season, which lasts for about 4 months (June–September) and a few gentle dune slopes [28]. e dry season is very pronounced and runs for about eight months extending from October to May. e mean annual rainfall and the mean annual air temperature in the area are 800 mm and 29°C, respectively [29]
Summary
Environmental degradation is a worldwide problem caused by inappropriate cropping system and land-use and soil management practices and has attracted attention in sustainable agricultural production systems [1,2,3]. Soil fertility management cannot be fostered without an appropriate and rapid assessment of soil nutrients status so that decision makers and farmers can be aware of the soil fertility constraints and make informed decisions to International Journal of Agronomy improve crop yields and better manage soil nutrients [14]. Other countries such as India in 2012, Kenya and Nepal in 2014 [12], and recently Cameroon have adopted the use of soil-testing mobile vans for farmers to have their soil tested for nutrient deficiencies and fertilizer requirements. Regardless of their present drawbacks, chemical methods of agricultural soil testing are the most frequently used diagnostic tools of soil nutrient status and the need of fertilization derived from it [15]
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