Effects of using municipal waste as fertilizer on soil properties in Jos area, Nigeria

One of the major constraints to sustainable crop production on the Jos Plateau in Nigeria is low soil fertility status. Since the solution to the problem has long been perceived in terms of inadequate supply and distribution of inorganic fertilizers, maintenance of soil fertility has become one of the greatest problems facing both agricultural institutions and farmers in the area. With increased realization of the importance of organic fertilizers, which are now being used to provide useful supplement to inorganic ones, municipal waste is one of the organic fertilizing materials in use for quite some time now in Jos area. Farmers apply town waste in combination with poultry droppings and/or cow dung. Therefore, the objective of the study was to determine the effects of municipal waste application on soil properties. Two types of soil data were collected: Soil profile data and surface soil data. In each of the two study sites selected (Gangare and Naraguta) in the area, two profile pits were located, one in a farm where there has been application of town waste and the second in the adjacent reference area where there has been cultivation but no application of municipal waste. Stratified random sampling technique was adopted to collect surface soil samples. Standard procedures were applied in laboratory analysis. The results of soil analysis show that application of town waste has really modified the soil conditions. The surface soils in some areas have become very dark, classifying the soil as Mollisols. The levels of organic matter, total nitrogen, available phosphorus, exchangeable bases and CEC have been greatly enhanced. However, the contents of some trace elements have increased too.