Abstract
This study was conducted on a 128-hectare land in Isua community of Edo state to assess its suitability for Oil palm, Coconut and Cocoa cultivation. Rigid grid Soil survey methodology at detailed scale was done which produced four mapping units. The soils were classified according to USDA soil taxonomy and local series; three soil orders were classified in the study area (Entisols-Ahiara, Inceptisols-Kulfo and Ultisols-Orlu). Major limitations to assessment were climate (mean annual temperatures) and soil physical characteristics (texture/structure). Aggregate suitability rating (both actual and potential) showed that Orlu series (pedons 3 and 4 amounting to 56.73 ha) was suitable for all the crops; Kulfo series (pedon 2, covering 54.25 ha) was suitable for Coconut and Cocoa; Ahiara series (Pedon 1covering 17.13 ha) was not suitable for any of the crops. Thus, area occupied by pedon 1 should not be used for cultivation of any of the crops due to major limitation in texture. Moreover, both assessment approaches captured the major limitations; therefore, the use of any of the approaches employed in this study and for these crops becomes a matter of choice as both of them show no major differences in the application of their procedures.
Keywords:
(mean annual temperatures) and soil physical characteristics (texture/structure).
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