ENHANCING SOIL NUTRIENT STATUS USING DYNAMIC KRAALING STRATEGY IN NORTHERN GHANA

Abstract

Soil fertility depletion is a single most important constraint to food security in West Africa due to continuous cropping and increasing population pressure. Rising costs of commercial fertilizers and increasing emphasis on sound manure management to protect water quality, renewed interest has been focused on maximizing the fertility returns of organic manure. The study determined the effect of dynamic kraaling on soil nutrient status of soils of the middle voltain formation (sandstone, shale and siltstone) in Savelugu/Nanton District in the Northern Region of Ghana. Six (6) soil samples each were collected at two depths (0-40 cm and 40-80 cm) from an active kraal (AK), an old kraal (OK) and non-kraal (NK) farmlands. Laboratory soil analysis indicated that N levels were higher at 0-40 cm depth compared to the depth of 40-80 cm for the AK and the OK but indifferent for the NK farmlands at the two depths. High level difference in the concentration of Phosphorus (P) and Potassium (K) was observed between the two depths for AK and OK. The concentration of P and K was noted to have increased from the 0-40 cm depth to 40-80 cm depth. The results indicate that NPK was high in active kraals, old kraals and non-kraaled farmlands in decreasing order. Varying levels of organic matter (OM), organic carbon (OC), soil pH and electrical conductivity (EC) were also observed for the different kraaling systems but these were observed to be much higher for the active kraals. The effect of dynamic kraaling in the improvement of soil nutrient levels was high.