LAND SUITABIITY INVESTIGATION FOR SESAME PRODUCTION AT COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE FARM, GARKAWA, MIKANG LGA, PLATEAU STATE.

Abstract

Land suitability investigation for Sesame production at the College of Agriculture Garkawa in Northern Guinea Savannah zone of Nigeria was carried out in April, 2022. A reconnaissance soil survey was undertaken, which helped in identifying the distribution of soils and delineated as soil unit one (SU1), soil unit two (SU2) and soil unit three (SU3) respectively. Three minipits represented in each soil unit at depths of 0-15cm, 15-30cm, 30-45cm and 45-60cm respectively. Soil samples were collected according to the pedogenic horizons. Particle size distribution of the soil revealed loamy texture for all the soil units, which suggests adequate drainage. Soil reaction was highly acidic with means of 5.1, 4.85 and 5.20 for soil units 1, 2 and 3 respectively. High levels of exchangeable bases (Ca, Mg, Na and K) were also observed with calculated average percentage of base saturation (BS) as 73, 74 and 77 for SU1, SU2 and SU3 respectively. Although the farm is moderately suitable for Sesame production, some few constrains associated with Sesame production were discovered on the farm. To bring the farmland to suitable and sustainable status for Sesame production, organic fertilizer application and lime application were recommended to boost the soil fertility and mitigate the effect of high acidity on the farm.