STATUS OF EXTRACTABLE MICRONUTRIENTS IN RELATION TO OTHER SOIL PROPERTIES OF GABARI DISTRICT, ZARIA, NIGERIA.

Jimoh, I.A.*, Bello, S.K. and Aliyu, J.

Micronutrients are essential elements for normal growth of plants, that are needed in little amount. The contents of available iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu) and boron (B) were determined in seventeen soil samples collected from genetic horizons of six pedon in northern Guinea savanna zone of Nigeria using standard methods. The mean content of available Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu and B was 53.75 mg kg^-1, 13.16 mg kg^-1, 6.69 mg kg^-1, 2.45 mg kg^-1 and 1.69 mg kg^-1 respectively. Zn was observed to be deficient in 45% of the sub-soils where trace amounts were recorded while other micronutrients were adequate in all the sub-soils. Soil clay content and pH significantly correlated positively with Cu at r= 0.616** and r=0.485* respectively. Organic carbon (OC) correlated positively with B (r = 0.696**), Fe (r = 0.483*) and Mn (r = 0.509*). There were also significant relationships among the micronutrients; Fe correlated with all the other micronutrients. Generally, the soils were sufficiently supplied with available micronutrient, but for sustainable crop production application of farm yard manure and crop residue will be required.

Key words: Status, Soil Micronutrients, Soil Macronutrient, Pedons.