Assesment of levels of selected nutrients in the soil for wheat growing in Narok north sub-county, Kenya

Abstract

Wheat (Triricum aestivum) is the most important cereal after maize in Kenya. Its production is lower than its consumption in Kenya and the shortfall is met by imports. The current study analyzed macronutrients, micronutrients, pH, total organic matter and determined diversity of bacteria in the soil wheat growing areas of Narok north sub-county. Stratified random sampling method was used and soil samples collected from Ololulunga, Ntulele and Mau. The standards were prepared using chemicals and reagents of analytical grade. Atomic Absorption spectrophotometer was used to analyze Mg, Ca, Cu, Zn and Fe, UV-VIS spectrophotometer was used in determination of nitrates, sulfates and phosphates and Flame photometry was used to analyze K. Bacteria were isolated and both morphological and biochemical test were done on them by use of different selective media. The data collected was analyzed using student t-test, MSTAT-C and SPSS. Ca and Zn had the strongest positive correlation of 0.642 followed by Mg and Ca with a positive correlation of 0.513 while the rest of the nutrients had very low correlations before planting. Ca and Mg showed a positive correlation of 0.413 after planting whereas phosphates and calcium, phosphates and zinc showed a negative correlation of -0.454 and -0.455 respectively. The bacteria isolated in this study were identified using the Bergey’s manual and were found to be Pseudomonas ssp, Micrococcus spp, Mycobacterium spp, Corynebacterium spp and Bacillus spp. It was found that in most of the sampled farms, K, Ca, Mg, Cu and Zn were deficient but Fe was sufficient. All the farms sampled were found to be nitrates sufficient but most farms were deficient in sulfates and phosphates therefore addition of these fertilizers is highly recommended.