Comparative Study of Soil Profile in Logo and Ukum Local Government Areas of Benue State, Nigeria

Soil samples were collected from Mbagber and Mbazum council wards of Logo and Ukum Local Government Areas of Benue State. Physicochemical analysis was conducted to assess the soil fertility. The results indicate that the soil profile (sand, clay and silt) is 74.96 %, 13.75 % and 10.34 % for Logo and 74.13 %, 14.41 % and 9.44 % for Ukum. Bulk density, soil porosity, moisture content and organic carbon were found to be 1.54 gcm-3 and 1.35 gcm-3, 42.48 % and 49.54 %, 23.80 % and 20.73 %, 0.52 % respectively for both Logo and Ukum respectively. The results for pH, CEC, BS and total nitrogen were 6.25 and 6.29, 7.1 Cmolkg-1 and 6.95 Cmolkg-1, 86.08 % and 85.24 %, 6.09 Cmolkg-1 and 6.03 Cmolkg-1 and 0.19 % and 0.40 % for Logo and Ukum respectively. Phosphorus, potassium, and calcium values were found to be 2.71 ppm and 2.65 ppm, 2.94 Cmolkg-1 and 2.94 Cmolkg-1 for Logo and Ukum respectively. The study revealed that all the parameters are in agreement with set standards by United State Department of Agriculture soil standard range (USDA SSR) with low CEC value indicate that the soil requires fertilizer (organic fertilizers, slow released fertilizers, balanced fertilizers etc) application for maximum yield.