Assessing the Spatial Patterns in Soil Properties Which Strongly Influences High Crop Yields, Through Electrical Resistivity Method, in Mokwa, Niger State, Nigeria

Abstract

The escalated population, booming agricultural productions and marketing activities in Mokwa area brought about unending agricultural land-use, soil and water quality challenges among others. The Mokwa sedimentary exploration for clean soils and groundwater for plants with maximized economic convenience thus became paramount using efficient Geophysical methods. Electrical Resistivity survey adopting Wenner Profiling array and 2-D imaging was used to investigate the spatial-variability in physical properties of subsurface-soil and groundwater at College of Agriculture Mokwa Farm (latitude 9o18' N and longitude 5o04' E), southern guinea savanna zone, Nigeria. Delineated were; geologic features (claystones, sandstones and conglomerates), weathered basement, fresh basement, fractures, horizontal spatial patterns indicated low resistivity zones <26 Ωm in soil properties near the top horizon identified as viable and potentially high-quality and maximum crop-yielding zones. Shallow aquifer and water-table zones at the depth of 6.75 m at points GW (profiles 3 and 4), water-flow patterns and viable areas for locating agricultural infrastructural facilities with highest resistive zones >924 Ωm (Profiles 2 and 5) at farm were among the discoveries with practical economic compromise between the obtained results quality and low survey costs, thereby proving the geophysical method’s convenience. Geophysical methods adoption in agricultural soil/plant researches were among the recommendations based on their conveniences in quick-extensive data measurement without soil disturbance, modeling/interpretations and possibility of assessing growing plants in its natural conditions.