Abstract:
This research work was carried out to assess the potentials of flood plain soils on agricultural
productivity in Warri River, in the Niger-Delta area of Nigeria. Soil samples were collected from
plots of 10 meters by 10meters along the river bank. In all ten (10) sample plots were established
and the simple random technique was employed in the collection of the soils. Soils were
collected from 0-15, 15-30cm soil depth and a total of 30 samples were collected for laboratory
analysis. The soil elements considered include, particle size for the proportion of sand, silt and
clay. The status of organic matter, total Nitrogen, exchangeable calcium, magnesium, potassium
and sodium were also analyzed. Other elements considered are effective cation exchangeable
(CEC), available phosphorous, iron and the soil pH. Results from the study showed that the soil
ofRiver Warri flood plain has high soil productivity if put into proper use. This is evident from
the high cation exchangeable capacity recorded as both the 0-15cm and 15-30cm soil layers. It is
therefore recommended that farmers should be encouraged by agriculture extension workers to
take advantage of the soil to cultivate large amount of vegetables such as okro, fluted pumpkin,
cucumber and sugar cane etc along the bank of the river especially during the 3rd and 4th
months of the dry season to utilize the abundant mineral and organic nutrients and moisture
content of the soil.
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