soil npk requirements for irish potatoes under fadama

International Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences 2016; 1(1): 1-7

http://www.openscienceonline.com/journal/ijaes

Soil Npk Requirements for Irish Potatoes Under Fadama Irrigation Management in Rugu Rugu Tudun Wada Local Government Area of Kano State, Nigeria

Umar I. A.1, Yusuf M. A.

2, Ahmed M.

2, *, Murtala U. Mohammed

2, Adamu G. K.

3

1Department of Geography, Faculty of Earth and Environmental Science, Kano State University of Science and Technology, Wudil, Kano

State Nigeria 2Department of Geography, Faculty of Earth and Environmental Science, Bayero University Kano, Nigeria 3Department of Geography & Regional Planning, Faculty of Social Science, Federal University Dutsin-Ma Katsina, Nigeria

Email address

[email protected] (Ahmed M.) *Corresponding author

To cite this article Umar I. A., Yusuf M. A., Ahmed M., Murtala U. Mohammed, Adamu G. K. Soil Npk Requirements for Irish Potatoes Under Fadama

Irrigation Management in Rugu Rugu Tudun Wada Local Government Area of Kano State, Nigeria. International Journal of Agricultural and

Environmental Sciences. Vol. 1, No. 1, 2016, pp. 1-7.

Received: May 20, 2016; Accepted: May 31, 2016; Published: June 22, 2016

Abstract

This study targeted at NPK requirement for Irish potato cultivation under fadama irrigation management in Rugu- Rugu

district, Tudun- Wada Local Government Area, Kano state. Random sampling method was used in collections of soil samples

in each mapping units. Three soil mapping units were identified on the basis of moisture regime, topography and soil colour,

the Recessional land (RA), the Lower fadama land (LF) and the Upper fadama land (UF) were identified in the area with the

total land area of 203 Ha. These were evaluated with respect to their qualities and characteristics which are then matched with

agronomic requirements for NPK using potato. The results revealed that N contents in the soils of the study area was medium

to low which indicated marginal value for Irish potato, while mapping unit RA and LF are found to be in an optimum amount

for the production of the crop. However, mapping unit UF require little improvement for P for optimum yield. Hence, units RA

and LF are found to be moderate for K whereas unit UF is within marginal. Generally, pH in the area is generally acidic.

Therefore, the study recommends for the need to supply more K carrying materials to improve the soils and also both organic

and inorganic fertilizers should be incorporated in a complimentary manner.

Keywords

Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium, Irish Potato, Soil Mapping Unit

1. Introduction

Irish potato being an economic crop in the fadama land of

Rugu-Rugu area is an opportunity for increase production

and creating more economic returns to the farmers in the area

and hence as a means for poverty reduction. The choice of

the crop was behind the fact that, it produces remarkable

quantities of calories when compared with other crops, it is

indispensable for its high quality proteins substituting other

unaffordable sources of proteins to poor people, its

production require very little inputs with corresponding

higher profitability than many other crops as it was reported

by [1]. Although its production in Nigeria is mainly in some

parts of the country- the advantaged areas (Jos, Mambila etc),

cultivation is also possible during the cooler period of the

year (harmattan) in other areas under irrigation management

system [2].

According to International Potato Centre, stated that in

2008 Irish Potato (Solanum Tuberosum L.) in Nigeria was

introduced by Europeans in the year 1920’s. Its production

was limited to small garden plots until the Second World

2 Umar I. A. et al.: Soil Npk Requirements for Irish Potatoes Under Fadama Irrigation Management in Rugu Rugu Tudun Wada Local

Government Area of Kano State, Nigeria

War. Potato is the main root and tuber crop and the fourth

most important food crop in the World after rice, wheat, and

corn, which grows in over 125 countries and is consumed by

over a billion people. As a vegetable, potato is indispensable

for its high quality proteins, substantial amounts of essential

vitamins, minerals, trace elements, very low fat contents and

even medicinal properties [3, 4]. Irish potato production in

Nigeria has been on the increase in recent times as a result of

the introduction of better adopted and high yielding varieties

and its introduction into other northern states with favorable

weather conditions [2].

Few studies particularly on NPK for potato were presented

like the study of [5] studied four varieties in Samaru

irrigation plots, Zaria aimed at finding variety of high yield,

low unmarketable tubers and responses to NPK fertilizer, the

most yielding among the four varieties was RC767-2 and

WC732-1 variety 20-31 tons per hectare and mature in 80-

110 days. The study couldn’t show the spatial distribution of

these elements.

Application of NPK fertilizer increases the tuber sizes and

reduces the proportion of unmarketable tubers. High yield is

achieved at 600kg NPK per hectare. Therefore, there is need

to know the distribution of these elements (NPK) so as to

have certain information on what amount of NPK fertilizers

to apply which will help in controlling soil pollution and

degradation.

The main aim of this paper is to analyse and map out NPK

for potato requirement in Rugu Rugu of Tudun Wada LGA of

Kano State.

2. Materials and Methods

2.1. Location of the Study Area

Rugu-Rugu area is one of the important districts in Tudun

Wada LGA which comprises of Rugu-Rugu, Yalwa and

Shuwaki villages. The areas are 11 Km in the North western

part of the local government headquarter. Its description

would be mere description of the entire T/wada LGA because

of their similarity of climatic and environmental

characteristics. Its therefore located between Latitude

11°00’N – 11° 301N of the Equator and Longitude 8° 15

1E –

8° 451E of Green which Meridian, bounded by Kiru and

Bebeji Local Governments to the North, Rano and Kibiya

Local Governments to the Northeast, Garko and Sumaila to

the East, Bauchi State to the southeast, Doguwa to the South

and Kaduna State (Ikara L.G.A) to the southwest and west

respectively. It covers some portion within the spatial extent

1,204km2 of the entire LGA (see figure, 1). The area is

situated very close to Tiga dam along river Gishirya, near

Yalwa village and is the largest area with total land area of 79

Ha, the second largest is the mapping unit LF which is

located near Rugu-Rugu village having total land area of 75

Ha and the last and the smallest is mapping unit UF which is

located near Shuwaki village- the extreme south of river

Gishirya and it cover a total land area of 49 Ha.

Figure 1. Tudun-Wada local government showing the Study area.

Tudun – Wada being geographically positioned in the early

Sudan climate (transitional Zone) Zone enjoys the influence of

North – easterly from October to April. Despite the diurnal and

monthly variation, it received average annual rainfall of about

800mm to 1000mm in Five (5) month of a year [6 in 7-10]

Specifically in Rugu-Rugu area the areas were laid by alluvial

channel, in which many river systems create alluvial channel

complexes consisting of both old and current flats. The old

flats are muddy, abandoned flood plain originating from the

migration of rivers over very extensive storm channel.

International Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences 2016; 1(1): 1-7 3

There is also succession of recent accumulation of

sediments from adjacent interfluves that makes most of the

fadama soils along the Kano river. The agricultural potential

of soils in the Kano Region is rated as low to marginal. The

exceptions to this are the hydromorphic soils found in valley

bottoms and flood plains of rivers (fadama) in the Region.

The poor nutrient status of soils in the Region is largely

responsible for this low agricultural potential. Efforts at

raising the agricultural potential of the soils must aim at

increasing their fertility levels. This could be achieved by the

application of fertilizers (both organic and inorganic in a

complementary manner) and soil management practices

aimed at soil conservation [11].

2.2. Soil Nutrients Requirements for Irish

Potatoes

Potato requires high amount of nitrogen (N), phosphorus

(p) and potassium (K) in the soil in order to achieve high

yield [12, 2, 22]. Each of these nutrients has specific

functions for plant growth and development. Lack of any or

combination of these nutrients can result in retarded growth

[12, 22].

The major constrains to potato production in the cool high

land of Kenya is the rapid decline in soil fertility occasioned

by continuous cultivation without adequate replenishment of

mined nutrients [13, 14]. In part of Kenya shows that soil

phosphorus of 2.9 ppm, total nitrogen of 0.15% and with a

pH values of 4 to 5 indicated a low nutrient [13, 14]. While a

study conducted at Samaru, Zaria, despite the fact that, the

soil had low N, P and K the crop recorded a significant yield.

The analysis of the soil indicated the soil to be loam with

0.02 to 0.03% nitrogen, 5.29 to 6.34 ppm available

phosphorus with the pH of 4.7 to 5.10.

2.3. Mapping Units

Land or soil evaluation information particularly field

measurable variable data, soil fertility parameters and other

observable data were considered as primary sources for this

research which includes; N, P and K. While the secondary

data consists of both published and unpublished materials

such as academic journals and articles, text books, the

internet, conference proceedings, government agencies

publications, private organisation’s report, undergraduate

project and post graduate’s thesis and dissertations. Others

include satellite imagery from Google Earth.

Three mapping areas were identified based on moisture

regime, topography and soil colour; three were identified the

Recessional Land- where recessional farming is being carried

out and is labelled with index (RA), the Lower Fadama

Land- where irrigated farming is carried out and the soils are

darker in colour and indexed as (LF) and the Upper Fadama

Land where- irrigated farming is also at a full scale and the

soils are brown in colour and thus indexed as (UF) (figure 2).

These mapping units were demarcated for easy classification

of the area according to suitability of potato cultivation.

However, mapping unit RA is located very close to Tiga dam

along river Gishirya, near Yalwa village and is the largest

area with total land area of 79 Ha, the second largest is the

mapping unit LF which is located near Rugu-Rugu village

having total land area of 75 Ha and the last and the smallest

is mapping unit UF which is located near Shuwaki village-

the extreme south of river Gishirya and it cover a total land

area of 49 Ha. The areas cover a total of 203 Ha of land along

the river (figure 2). The suitability of all the mapping units

was determined using a suitability table for Irish potato and

NPK (see table 1).

Figure 2. Mapping units and Sampling points.



Table 1. NPK suitability for Irish Potatoes.

Chemical soil

properties

Highly

suitable

Moderately

suitable

Marginally

suitable

Currently

not suitable

N (%) > 1.0 0.5-1.0 0.2-0.5 < 0.2

P(ppm) > 10 6.5-10 2.5-6.5 < 2.5

K(ppm) > 50 40-50 20-40 < 20

Source: [15], [2], [16], [14], [20] and [22]

3. Laboratory Analysis

The samples were taken to the laboratory, air dried and

gently crushed with porcelain pestle and mortar; and then

passed through a 2mm sieve to remove coarse fragments. The

dispersed samples were shaken on a reciprocating shaker

after which particle size distribution was determined with the

aid of Bouyoucous hydrometer at progressive time intervals.

The textural classes were determined with the aid of USDA

textural triangle.

Total nitrogen was determined using the macro – kjedhal

method. Soil available phosphorus was determined using the

Bray I method calorimetrically. While K was extracted with

1m ammonium acetate (1M NH4OAc) solution buffered at

pH 7.0 as described by [17]. Potassium was read on a pye

unicam model SP 192 atomic absorption spectrophotometer

(AAS) at 423 and 285nm wavelength.

The map of the area (soil units) was extracted from the

Google earth image which was geo-referenced in the Arc GIS

9.3 environment. Database of each soil units of the area was

entered (average) which was used for the mapping of the

entire element (NPK). Symbolisation was used based on

colours.

4. Data Analysis

The laboratory analyses were categorized for NPK and pH

(Table 2). The result indicated that the mean values of

potassium (K) in the study area were generally measured to

be 30.133ppm-44.467ppm. This shows medium K contents in

the Recessional Area (RA) area having the mean value of

44.467ppm, the mean values in the soil mapping unit LF

(Lower Fadama Land) was 39.778ppm and that of soil

mapping unit Upper Fadama (UF) with 30.133ppm and K

contents of unit RA been the highest.

Phosphorous possibly has the most complicated chemistry

in the soils, at least as per as assessment of P- level and P-

fertilizers requirements are concerned. It occurs in soils in

both organic and inorganic form, the latter being the most

important for crops nutrition [18]. The range of values of

phosphorous contents for all the mapping units in the area are

generally low to medium which is 8.731ppm-17.811ppm and

with the average values of 13.740ppm, 17.811ppm and

8.731ppm were measured for soil mapping units RA

(Recessional Land), LF

Table 2. Summary of analysis for NPK.

Mapping Units N (%) P (ppm) K (ppm) pH

Recessional (RA) 0.134 13.74 44.467 5.04

SD 0.097 1.902 13.706 0.44

CV 0.723 0.138 0.308 0.087

Lower Fadama (LF) 0.072 17.811 39.778 5.467

SD 0.047 5.797 12.441 0.245

CV 0.653 0.325 0.313 0.045

Upper Fadama (UF) 0.062 8.731 30.133 5.82

SD 0.019 1.176 14.79 0.46

CV 0.305 0.135 0.491 0.079

Sources: Data analysis (2015)

(Lower Fadama Land) and UF (Upper Fadama Land)

respectively. Mapping unit LF was found to be the highest

and unit UF been lower. The P contents for tropical soils are

classified as; greater than 10ppm (high), 6ppm-10ppm

(medium) and less than 6ppm (low) [19].

Nitrogen occurred in different forms in the soils and their

availability is contributing to the fertility and good structure

of the soil. The general nitrogen contents of the soils of the

study area have been found to be medium to low. [16]

recommended the broad rating of nitrogen measurements as;

greater than 1.0 (very high), 0.5-1.0 (high), 0.2-0.5 (medium)

and 0.2 and below (low). The nitrogen contents mean values

for the entire area was found to be 0.028%-0.322%. And

0.134%, 0.072% and 0.062% mean values were obtained

from mapping unit RA (Recessional land), LF (Lower

fadama land) and UF (Upper fadama land) respectively. As

for the total N, mapping unit RA was measured 0.134%,

mapping unit LF 0.072% and mapping unit UF is 0.062%.

These show the nitrogen contents in the soils of the study

area was medium to low contents. Nevertheless, [20] found

out that, potato thrive well in soils with %N 0.02%-0.03%

which is less than the mean values obtained in the study area

and thus, is marginally suitable for the crop in the three

mapping units.

The available phosphorous (P) in the area studied was

measured to as high as 13.740ppm, 17.811ppm and

8.731ppm in each of the mapping units RA, LF and UF

respectively. In similar work [13, 14] have stated that, the P

contents in major potato growing parts of Kenya is as low as

2.9ppm which is much lower than the threshold value of the

crop (greater than 10ppm) for a high yields. In this work

therefore, mapping unit RA and LF are found to be highly

suitable for the production of the crop however, mapping unit

UF require little improvement of P for optimum yield of Irish

potato.


Figure 3. Showing phosphorus (P).

Figure 4. Showing nitrogen (N).

Figure 5. Showing potassium (K).

Figure 6. Showing pH.

The potassium (K) contents in the studied units was

measured and rated as medium to low. The mean values



obtained from mapping unit RA were found to be the highest

(44.467ppm), mapping unit LF recorded 39.778ppm and

mapping unit UF were measured to as low as 30.133ppm.

The threshold value required for potato K is between the

ranges of 66.3ppm-81.9ppm for optimum yield [22].

Therefore, there is need to supply more K-carrying materials

to improve the soil of the study area. Hence the mapping

units RA and LF are found to be moderately suitable whereas

unit UF is marginally suitable for the crop.

The pH of the soil affects the availability of most of the

nutrients required by plants. If the pH of the soil is too low or

too high the micro organisms in the soil will seriously be

affected [21]. Generally the pH of the area ranges from 4.2-6.4,

for all the samples collected from all the mapping units,

indicating the soils are generally acidic. The pH values of the

soil mapping unit RA (Recessional Land) was 5.04 on the

average, which indicates the soils are moderately acidic; the pH

value of the soil mapping unit LF (Lower Fadama Land) was 5.5

indicating the soils also being moderately acidic and for soil

mapping unit UF (Upper Fadama Land) which was 5.8 indicates

the soils as acidic. The pH value between soils mapping units

shows slight increase towards neutral. High pH value is recorded

in mapping unit UF (Upper fadama land) (5.8) and unit RA

(Recessional land) been the lowest (5.04) (table 2).

5. Conclusion

The research evaluates the rates of NPK requirement for

cultivating Irish potato under irrigation management in Rugu-

Rugu district, Tudun-wada LG, Kano state. This approach

simplified the conventional method of data collection and

analysis. The study concluded that the 3 mapping units indicated

a trend towards soils chemical properties deficiency in N, P, K

and this is due to low level of nutrient in the soils with

corresponding uptake by crops. These soils nutrients are been

depleted as the result of continues cropping without significant

effort of replenishment. Also, the soils experienced moderate

acidic which could be manage.

Recommendations

It is essential that, the lost nutrients be replenished by

artificial means to get normal yields. Therefore, the study

recommended for;

i. Application of both organic and inorganic fertilizers in a

complementary manner that is using both animal dung

and crop residues to improve fertility of the soil and

maintain its drainage.

ii. Inorganic fertilizers should also be applying in a

complimentary manner to replace lost nutrients.

iii. In case of areas that are front to erosion, ridges should

be made at cross direction to the slope while irrigated

channels should be properly constructed.

Acknowledgment

This paper is an extract from the Msc. Theses of Umar I.

A. The author is indebted to Mallam Murtala Uba

Mohammed for his scholarship and mentorship during the

programme also to include Dahiru Isa Abba of the CIT BUK

for his maximum support and assistance during mapping

(GIS analysis). Also, to includes Dr. Badamasi M. M. and

Ahmed M. of the Department of Geography BUK for their

guidance and contributions during the data anlysis. Special

thanks to Mallam Abubakar of the soil and water laboratory

Department of Geography Bayero University Kano for his

assistance during the soil analysis.

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soil npk requirements for irish potatoes under fadama

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