Determination of Soil Hydro-Physical Properties of Some Farmlands in Wukari Local Government Area, Taraba State for Sustainable Crop Production

The research work saddled to characterize soil hydro-physical properties of some selected farmlands for sustainable crop production in Wukari LGA, Taraba State. Four locations Akwana ,Rafin Goza, Kente and Gindin Dorowa were selected namely where at each site fifteen (15) soil auger points were sampled using random sampling method at two (2) different soil depths of 0-30 cm and 30-60 cm respectively. At each location thirty (30) soil samples were collected thereby amounting to a total of 120 soil samples for the research work. Soil samples collected were transferred in to the well labeled polythene bags for further physical and hydraulic analysis in the laboratory. The data obtained were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The results of the physical properties revealed that the soil was characterized with loamy sand and sandy loam textures having moderate bulk density (1.64 g/cm3 ) with very low to moderate TP (33.91-42.11 %), very low to moderate OM (1.28-1.76 %) and slightly acidic soil pH (6.56) respectively. In addition, the hydraulic properties shows that WHC, FC and PWP were moderate in all the farm locations except at Gindin Dorawa where FC and PWP were low (18.65 % and 7.45 %) meanwhile PAW was high except at Gindin Dorawa found to be moderate (11.18-11.20 %) accordingly. It is therefore, recommends that farmers in the areas especially Gindin Dorawa should adopt the use of soil and water conservation techniques to improve the moisture status of the soil and also effective use of organic manures for effective crop growth and development.