Effects of Disc Ploughing on the Morphological and Physical ...

they can be managed effectively for agricultural purposes. Success or failure <strong>of</strong> agriculturalprojects hinges on the morphological and physical properties <strong>of</strong> the soil used. Theoccurrence and growth <strong>of</strong> many plant species are closely related to the physical properties <strong>of</strong>soils as in the movement over and through soils <strong>of</strong> water and its dissolved nutrients.The physical properties most closely connected to the development <strong>of</strong> crop root areporosity and bulk density. For many <strong>of</strong> the tropical Savannah soils <strong>of</strong> West Africa, thethreshold bulk densities above which roots fail to penetrate the soil are about 1.75 g /cm 3 forsandy soils, and from 1.46-1.63g/cm 3 for clays. Bulk densities <strong>of</strong> most <strong>of</strong> the soils range from1.50-1.60g/cm 3 , with an average porosity <strong>of</strong> 42% (Abubakar, et al 2009).While most studies in Nigeria focussed on the effects <strong>of</strong> compaction on crop field,effects <strong>of</strong> poultry droppings on physical properties <strong>of</strong> soils, comparison <strong>of</strong> different tillagepractices on crop yield, and the effect <strong>of</strong> the physical properties <strong>of</strong> soil on Ox-drawn plough(Ojeniyi and Adekayode,2002; Agbede et al, 2008; and Abubakar et al, 2009).There is littleor no interest is shown on the effects <strong>of</strong> disc ploughing on morphological and physicalproperties <strong>of</strong> the furrow slice which is one <strong>of</strong> the major consideration for conservation tillagefor sustainable agricultural production. This study is designed to unearth the effects <strong>of</strong> discploughing on the morphological and physical properties <strong>of</strong> soil in Mubi South LocalGovernment Area <strong>of</strong> Adamawa State, Nigeria.2.0 MATERIALS AND METHODS2.1 The Study AreaThe study area covers Mubi South Local Government Area which is specificallylocated between latitudes 10 0 00 l & 10 0 10 l N <strong>of</strong> the Equator and Longitudes 13 0 10 l & 13 0 30 lE <strong>of</strong> the Greenwich meridian. It is situated in the Sudan Savannah zone with annual meanrainfall ranging from 700 to 900 mm and a wet season lasting for 3-4 months and themaximum temperature <strong>of</strong> the area can reach 40 0 C in April and a minimum <strong>of</strong> 18 0 C betweenDecember and January (Adebayo, 1999).Mubi South Local Government Area encompasses part <strong>of</strong> the hard crystallinecratonic basements which are ancient Precambrian rocks formed from series <strong>of</strong> oregeniccycles within the mobile belt <strong>of</strong> Central Africa. The rocks <strong>of</strong> these events are commonlyquartzite (Opeloye and Dio, 1999).2.2 Field WorkThe study was carried out at the beginning <strong>of</strong> the 2010 cropping season (June-July).The Adamawa State Agricultural Development Programme (ADADP) have divided the areainto eight (8) Agricultural wards or Cells (Dirbishi, Gella, Gude, Lamorde, Moduva, Mugulbu,Mujara and Sahuda cells respectively). This work purposively selected only three (3) cells(Lamorde, Moduva and Mugulbu) for the purpose <strong>of</strong> the research because mechanicalploughing is not popular in the remaining cells due to the hilly nature <strong>of</strong> the areas. In eachcell, five (5) farms that employed disc ploughing were selected. Three composite soilsamples were collected from each farm before and after ploughing at a depth <strong>of</strong> 15-20 cm atthe same spot. Also, undisturbed soil samples were collected for bulk density determination.The collected soil samples were air-dried in the laboratory and ground using woodenpestle and mortar; then sieved to pass through 2 mm sieve. Properly labelled samples werekept in clean and fresh polyethylene plastic bags for laboratory analysis2.3 Field Analyses (morphological and physical propertiesSoil analyses were conducted to determine some morphological and physical properties<strong>of</strong> the soil that can be done in the field, soil colour, consistence and soil structure weredetermined in the field.2.3.1 Soil ColourThe colour <strong>of</strong> the soil were determined using Munsell soil colour chart where a smallpiece <strong>of</strong> soil was compared to a standard colour chips in the soil colour book.