title: Effect of irrigation on soil health: a case study of the Ikere irrigation project in Oyo State, southwest Nigeria.
abstract: Irrigated agriculture is one of the significant contributors to the food security of the millennium development goals (MDGs); however, the modification of soil matrix by irrigation could alter the overall soil health due to changes in soil properties and processes. The objective of the study was to evaluate the effect of irrigation on soil quality status of the Ikere center pivot irrigation project site in Oyo State, southwest Nigeria. Disturbed soil samples were collected from 0 to 30, 30 to 60, and 60 to 90-cm layers from four different sites in three replicates, within the project location for the determination of soil bio-chemical properties. The average values of sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) < 13, electrical conductivity (EC) <4 μS/cm, and pH < 8.5 showed that the soil condition is normal in relation to salinity and sodicity hazards. The effective cation exchange capacity (ECEC), soil organic matter (SOM), total nitrogen (TN), and calcium ion (Ca2+) concentrations were low while the available phosphorus (P) was moderate. The principal component analysis showed EC, ECEC, SAR, SOM, and TN as the minimum data set (MDS) for monitoring and assessing the soil quality status of this irrigation field. In terms of bio-chemical properties, the soil quality index (SQI) of the field was average (about 0.543) while the sampling locations were ranked as site 2 > site 4 > site 3 > site 1 in terms of SQI. The results of this study are designated as baseline for future evaluation of soil quality status of this irrigation field and further studies should incorporate soil physical and more biological properties when considering overall soil quality status.
authors.affiliation: Department of Agricultural Engineering, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, Oyo State, Nigeria.
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Adejumobi
authors.affiliation: Department of Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Ekiti State University, Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria. gabrielolaawe@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: G O
authors.initials: GO
authors.lastname: Awe
authors.affiliation: Department of Agricultural Engineering, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, Oyo State, Nigeria.
authors.forename: T P
authors.initials: TP
authors.lastname: Abegunrin
authors.affiliation: Department of Agricultural Engineering, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, Oyo State, Nigeria.
authors.forename: O M
authors.initials: OM
authors.lastname: Oyetunji
authors.affiliation: Department of Agricultural Engineering, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, Oyo State, Nigeria.
authors.forename: T S
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Kareem
mesh_terms: D057914:Agricultural Irrigation; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D009549:Nigeria; D054712:Salinity; D012964:Sodium / Q000032:analysis; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry*; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D012987:Soil; D012989:Soil Pollutants; D012964:Sodium
keywords: Principal component analysis; Soil properties; Soil quality index; Sprinkler irrigation