Browsing by Author "Asamoah, Gyan"

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    Assessing The Fertility Status Of A Reclaimed Site Planted With Pineapple: A Case Study At Ghana Manganese Company- Nsuta
    (2015-11-02) Asamoah, Gyan
    A three year old reclaimed site revegetated with pineapples, oil palm trees and plantain was observed to have all the planted crops develop, with the exception of pineapples. The influence of soil parameters such as pH, temperature, cation exchange capacity, water holding capacity, organic matter and success rate were examined. Nitrogen was determined with the use of Kjeldahl method, phosphorus extracted using neutral ammonium acetate and analysed with flame photometer whilst the content of potassium was determined using the Bray’s Method (No.1). The reclaimed site recorded lower soil parameters of nitrogen (0.04%), phosphorus (0.21ppm), potassium (15.64ppm), cation exchange capacity (4.81cmolc/kg), water holding capacity (47.90%) and organic matter (1.10%) compared to the standard soil requirements by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). However, the control site recorded soil parameters of nitrogen (0.27%), phosphorus (26.23ppm), potassium (74.39ppm), cation exchange capacity (7.25cmolc/kg), water holding capacity (71.3%) and organic matter (8.31%) which were within the range for standard soil requirements by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). This resulted in the higher yield of pineapples (74 %) at the control site than the reclaimed site (12.6 %). The study revealed that the nutrient cycle at the reclaimed site at Ghana Manganese Company has been broken down; therefore the soil ultimately has become unproductive for the cultivation of pineapples.