CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Crop production is an integral part of agriculture, the other
half is animal production or husbandry. Crop production can either be
on a subsistence or commercial level. It is subsistence when the farmer
produces for himself and family with a little for sale but it can be
commercial when the farmer produces in a large scale for market
consumption. Whichever type of production a farmer wants to embark
upon, the knowledge of fertilizer and the nature of the soil is of
utmost importance as this would go a long way in determining the farmers
output. Since the 90’s agriculture in Nigeria that use to be at the
front burner as the nation’s chief income earner as suddenly taken a
back stage as a result of over dependency on crude. Agriculture
overtime as been a major sustainer of Nigeria’s economy before the
discovery of crude oil otherwise known as black gold (okoro 2005).
Since its relegation to the background in Nigeria, it has been
practiced at an alarming peasant level with most of the active
stakeholder been largely subsistence agriculturists. Soil and fertilizer
type are very significant factors in crop production. It is highly
heterogeneous and this is the cause of differential rates of growth and
yield on a parcel of land planted to the same crop at the same time
and with the same management package (Olalokun, 1998). This is a source
of frustration to crop farming as farmers cannot think of a particular
management package suitable for their farmlands. Intensive cultivation
and fertilizer application have become the cardinal aspect of soil
management especially in the West African sub region. The Response to
fertilizer application in some cases is nothing to write home about;
hence many farmers have been forced to abandon their farmlands.
Types of fertilizers
Fertilizers can broadly be grouped into two parts namely:
As the name implies, these are fertilizers derived from human
excreta, animal and plant matter such as compost and manure. Organic
fertilizers generally have lower nutrient concentration than inorganic
fertilizers.
Advantages of organic fertilizers
The following are the advantages of organic fertilizers
- They do not harm or burn plants when excessively applied on crops.
- They do not damage ground water.
- When applied on farmlands, they have long term positive effects on farmlands.
- Organic fertilizers are renewable, biodegradable, sustainable, and environmentally friendly.
- Although rather expensive in packages, you can make your own
organic fertilizer by composting or find inexpensive sources—such as
local dairy farms—that may sell composted manure.
Disadvantages of organic fertilizers
- Organic fertilizers break down according to
nature’s rules, so they may not release nutrients as soon as you
need them. You have to be patient – you won’t see improvement
overnight. In fact, you may actually see a deficiency in your plants
during the first couple of months until the first application breaks
down. Hang in there! You’ll most definitely be rewarded.
- Nutrient ratios are often unknown, and the overall
percentage is lower than chemical fertilizers. However, some
organic products are actually higher in certain nutrients.
Inorganic fertilizers are synthetic fertilizers that are produced
from chemical or synthetic materials with defined proportion of
desired chemicals that are beneficial to crops.
Advantages of inorganic fertilizers
- Since nutrients are available to the plants immediately, improvement occurs in days.
- They are highly analyzed to produce the exact ratio of nutrients desired.
- Standardized labeling makes ratios and chemical sources easy to understand.
- They’re inexpensive.
Disadvantages of inorganic fertilizers
- If excessively applied, they can burn or harm plants.
- When applied, it can cause water or air pollution.
- Chemical fertilizers tend to leach, or filter away from the plants, requiring additional applications.
- Long-term use of chemical fertilizer can change the soil pH,
upset beneficial microbial ecosystems, increase pests, and even
contribute to the release of greenhouse gases.
- STATEMENT OF THE GENERAL PROBLEM
In Nigeria today, crop production has been largely inconsistent
resulting to the lack of knowledge of the combination of soil type and
fertilizer. This has led to general under production of crops in
Nigeria. An adequate knowledge on the right combination would help to
increase crop production and maintain that for a long time. There is
equally a concern by farmers and researchers on the best type of
fertilizer between organic and inorganic fertilizers to be used to
increase crop yield. Researchers are also interested in knowing if
inorganic or organic fertilizers performances are soil based. Another
problem of farmers is to know the relationship between soil type and
crop yield.
- AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
This study is aimed at the following:
- To know if there is a relationship and the nature of this
relationship (if any) between soil type, fertilizer type and crop
yield.
- To know if there is a relationship between soil type and crop yield.
- To know if there is a relationship between fertilizer type and crop yield.
- To know the best combination of fertilizer and soil type that yields more crops.
- SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
The significance or importance of this study is mainly to know if
there is any relationship between fertilizer type, nature of soil and
crop yield. Another importance of this survey is to know the soil type
that encourages more crop yield. A major significance of this study
is to know if there is a relationship between the following:
Soil type and crop yield, soil fertilizer type and crop yield. The
nature of these relationships (if any) is also of utmost importance to
us.
- SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
For the purpose of this study as the topic depicts, the scope of
the study will be focused on how crops respond to the types of
fertilization in each of the different types of soils. Another scope is
to know if a relationship exists between fertilizer type, soil type
and crop yield. A major scope is to know the best combination of
fertilizer type and soil nature or type that enhances crop yield. In
the earlier stage of the study there is a detailed coverage of the
techniques and methods used in judging whether crops responded well or
not to fertilization by looking at their performances.
LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
It is necessary to mention some of the limitation of this research
work. The chief limitation is the difficulty in obtaining relevant
information in that a few of our values were missing but these missing
values were not statistically significant enough to be noticed.
Notwithstanding, in the highlighted limitation above, it
is hoped that this research will be useful to agricultural
researchers, farmers and other similar organization that may want to
know the general response of crops to the types of fertilization on
different soils.
- Organic: produced by or from living things.
- Inorganic: not consisting of or coming from any living substances.
- Fertilizer: a substance added to soil to make plants grow more successfully.
- Crops: a plant that is grown in large quantities, especially as food.
- Synthetic: artificial; made by combining chemical substances rather than being produced naturally by plants or animals.
- Soil: the top layer of the earth, in which plants, trees etc grow.
The research hypotheses are as follows:
HYPOTHESIS 1
H0: there is no significant relationship between the fertilizer used and crop yield.
H1: there is a significant relationship between the fertilizer used and crop yield.
Level of significance: 0.05
Decision rule: reject H0 if p-value is less than the level of significance. Accept H0 if otherwise.
HYPOTHESIS 2
H0: there is no significant relationship between the soil type and crop yield.
H1: there is a significant relationship between the soil type and crop yield.
Level of significance: 0.05
Decision rule: reject H0 if p-value is less than the level of significance. Accept H0 if otherwise.
HYPOTHESIS 3
H0: there is no significant relationship between the soil type, fertilizer type and crop yield.
H1: there is a significant relationship between the soil type, fertilizer type and crop yield.
Level of significance: 0.05
Decision rule: reject H0 if p-value is less than the level of significance. Accept H0 if otherwise.