ABSTRACT
This study aimed to assess the concentrations of micronutrients in the soils of the University of Benin's experimental farm project. Soil samples were collected from two distinct locations: the 305 farm project and the control site at the New Faculty of Agricultural site. A total of 18 samples were collected, nine from the experimental site and nine from the control site, at three different depths (0-15cm, 15-30cm, 30-45cm). The parameters analyzed included pH, total nitrogen, particle size distribution, available phosphorus, exchangeable acidity, exchangeable cations, and micronutrients. Results indicated that the soils of the experimental farm were strongly acidic, with pH levels ranging from 5.13 to 4.16. Similarly, the control site exhibited strong acidity, with pH values between 4.46 and 4.50. Organic matter content ranged from 16.66 to 21.20, with an average of 19.4 for the Experimental Farm soils, displaying significant differences across depths. In contrast, the Control Site saw a decrease in organic matter with depth, with a mean value of 11.62, and no significant differences between depths of 15-30 cm and 30-45 cm, with the highest value in the topsoil. Significant differences were observed among calcium, sodium, manganese, and available phosphorus. Micronutrients such as chromium, iron, copper, zinc, and manganese were positively correlated with the physical and chemical properties of the soil, except for clay. The soil textural classification in the study area was sandy loam based on the textural triangle. Iron (Fe) exhibited a moderate negative correlation with clay (-0.612) and very high to high positive correlations with EC, organic matter, total nitrogen, exchangeable acidity, sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, chloride, available phosphorus, and silt. Manganese (Mn), Zinc (Zn), and Copper (Cu) displayed highly positive correlations with all corresponding properties except pH and sand, but had moderate negative correlations with clay (-0.574, -0.605, and -0.602) respectively. Chromium showed a high positive correlation with all corresponding parameters except for clay and sand.
