Evaluation of the productivity of soils in Makurdi, Southern Guinea Savanna, Nigeria, using riquier index

For a long time, soil productivity evaluation has been a major hotspot in soil science. In this article, research conducted to evaluate the productivity of soils in Makurdi Southern Guinea Savanna of Nigeria is reported. This research was conducted in 2007 and 2008 at the Teaching and Research (T&R) Farm and the SIWES Farm of the University of Agriculture Makurdi. Soil productivity was evaluated using Riquier index (RI). The factors used in this model included moisture duration, drainage, effective soil depths, texture, organic matter and CEC of clay. Comparisons were made of RI values obtained for the selected sites. Results from the study show that RI model can be used efficiently to characterize soil productivity at specific site if accurate field data are available. Results from the research work revealed significantly higher average seed yield, plant height and leaf area index in the Teaching and Research Farm than the SIWES Farm of the University of Agriculture Makurdi. This coincided with the study location with higher calculated Riquier index (RI). The significant correlations which existed between seed yield and RI evaluated showed that this index can actually explain yield variations.