Abstract – Sulphur deficiencies in soils of …

ABSTRACT:

Greenhouse experiments were carried out using soil samples collected from selected locations in southeastern Nigeria, in order to ascertain the extent, if any, of sulphur deficiencies in this region.Of the 45 locations studied, 20 showed significant responses to sulphur fertilization. 17 of the sulphur-deficient locations fall within the derived savanna vegetation zone.Percentage yield of maize (Zea mays) correlated positively with sulphate sulphur extracted after incubation of soil for two weeks. The correlation coefficient, r = 0.68, is significant at the 0.1% level. There was also a significant relationship between percentage yield and total soil carbon (r = 0.55) and between total soil sulphur and total soil carbon (r = 0.57).Application of ammonium sulphate resulted in a significant lowering of the soil pH, when compared with the application of ammonium nitrate. There was a negative relationship (r = −0.86) between percentage dry matter yield of maize and percent depression of the soil pH, suggesting that the soils with low buffer capacity are more likely to respond to sulphur application than soils with high buffer capacity.