Soil Fertility for Sustainable Crop Production: A Case Study of Gyerentor in Kete Krachi, Oti Region of Ghana

Abstract

Soil fertility management is important for sustainable crop production. In the bid to boost the agricultural development in Ghana, Krachi Farm Ltd, identified Gyerentor in Kete Krachi within the West District of the Oti Region, formally Volta Region as a potential area for cashew, cowpea, maize and mango production. However, the fertility status of the soil is not known hence the assessment of the suitability of the soil for the above crop production. 30 soil samples were collected randomly from depths of 0-30 and 30-50 cm. Soil sampling points were identified using a GPS device. Following standard methods adopted by Laboratory Analytical Services Department of Soil Research Institute, Ghana,  the collected soil samples were analyzed to find out their texture, pH, organic matter (OM), nitrogen (N), calcium (Ca), magnesium (mg), potassium (K), sodium (Na) and available phosphorus (P). The soil was acidic with the mean value of 4.5 in the topsoil, OM (1.0%), Ca (2.1 me/100 g), mg (0.8 me/100 g), K (0.3 me/100 g) and P (4.6 ppm). The soil texture was sandy loam and sandy clay loam. The fertility of the soil was low in almost all the studied parameters, especially with respect to OM and the NPK levels. Assessment for various land utilization type (LUT) types did not find it suitable for cashew, cowpea, maize and mango especially due to the extremely acidic condition.