Boron Adsorption by Some Semi-Arid Soils of North Eastern Nigeria

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1 International Journal of Applied Agricultural Research ISSN Volume 6 Number 1 (2011) pp Research India Publications Boron Adsorption by Some Semi-Arid Soils of North Eastern Nigeria Mohammed Kyari Sandabe and Sufyan Mohammed Associate Professor, Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Maiduguri, P.M.B. 1069, Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria. mohammed_sandabe@yahoo.com Abstract Three surface soil samples (0-15cm) were collected from Bama, Dalori and Konduga in Borno State, North Eastern Nigeria and were analyzed for physico chemical properties. Boron adsorption was studied by equilibrating five grams of soil samples with 20ml of 1m CaCl 2 solution containing 0,1,2,4,8,,32 and 64 µgml- 1 B as H 3 BO 3 for 24 hours. The results showed that the soils had low levels of organic carbon and also deficient in available Boron. The amount of B adsorbed increased with increasing B concentrations for the soils of Bama and Konduga. The B adsorption data had conformed to the freundlich adsorption isotherm over a B concentration range of 0 to µgml- 1.The K value or adsorptive strength of the soil for B was highest for the soil of Bama and lowest for the soil of Dalori. Addition of 1 to 2 µgml- 1 B to these soils will supply the required B concentration in the soil solution for optimum crop production. Keywords: Boron, Adsorption, North Eastern Nigeria. Introduction Boron is an essential micronutrient required by plants for their growth. Plants vary in their B requirement, but the range between deficient and toxic soil solution concentration of B is smaller than for any other nutrient element(goldberg,1997). The adsorption of B by soils depends very much on the ph of the soil solution. Maximum adsorption occurs in the ph range of 7 to 9 and it appears that greater retention is brought about by the clay minerals than the sesquioxides (Barrow 1989;

2 72 Mohammed Kyari Sandabe et al Keren and Bingham 1985; Mezuman and Keren,1981; Goldberg and Glaubig, 1986). B adsorption as a function of solution ph was however independent of soil salinity from ph 3 to 9. Above ph 9, B adsorption was increased from the solution of higher EC(Goldberg etal.,2008). B adsorption reactions on oxides, clay minerals and soil materials have been described using adsorption isotherm equations (Choi and Chen,1979;Elrashidi and O,Connor,1982; Goldberg and Foster,1991; Mandal etal., 1993; Goldberg,1997).The best known equations are the langmuir and freudlich equations. The study of the chemistry of B in soils of arid and semi-arid region is essential for the proper management of these soils, also, there is scanty information on B adsorption by soils of Borno State. Therefore, this study was undertaken with the objective of determining B adsorption by some semi-arid soils of North Eastern Nigeria. Materials and Methods Three surface soil samples (0-15 cm) were collected from Bama, Dalori and Konduga in Borno State, North Eastern Nigeria. The soils were air dried, crushed and sieved through a 2mm stainless sieve and analysed for physico chemical properties. Boron adsorption was also studied. Particle size analysis of the soils was determined by the hydrometer method (Bouyoucos,1962); Exchangeable cations were determined by the ammonium acetate extraction; organic carbon was determined by Walkley and Black (1934) wet oxidation method; available phosphorus was determined by the method of Bray and Kurtz (1945); available Boron was determined by the method of Berger and Truog,(1939) as reported by Reisenauer etal., (1973). For B adsorption studies, five grams of the soil sample was weighed in to a series of plastic bottles and 20ml of 1m CaCl 2 solution containing 0,1,2,4,8,,32 and 64 µgml- 1 B as H 3 BO 3 were added. The contents were shaken for an hour and equilibrated for 24 hours. The contents were then filtered and analysed for B by the method of Berger and Truog,(1939) as reported by Reisenauer etal., (1973). Results and Discussions The physico chemical properties of the soils are presented in table I. Soil from Dalori had very low level of organic carbon and moderately acidic. Where as soils from Bama and Konduga had low levels of organic carbon and neutral in reaction. The soils were coarse textured ( Typic Ustipsamment) and all deficient in available Boron. According to Reisenauer etal., (1973), soils that contained less than 1.0 ppm hot water soluble B may not supply sufficient B to support normal plant growth. B deficiency is one of the most widespread micronutrient deficiencies in the Nigerian Savanna (Lombin,1985; Kparmwang etal.,1995).

3 Boron Adsorption by Some Semi-Arid Soils of North Eastern Nigeria 73 Table I: Physico chemical properties of the soils. The data for B adsorption of the soils are presented in table II. For all the soils, with increasing initial concentration of B added, increasing equilibrium B concentrations were observed. Similar trend was observed in the amount of B adsorbed for the soils of Bama and Konduga. Table II: Boron Adsorption Data of the Soils. S/No Soil Initial conc. of B, µgml- 1, Co 1. Bama Dalori Konduga Equilibrium Conc. Amount of B of B µgml- 1 C adsorbed mgkg- 1 X Log C Log X C/X

4 74 Mohammed Kyari Sandabe et al B adsorption isotherm for the soils is shown in figure I Amount of Boron Adsorbed,ug/g DALORI KONDUGA BAMA Equilibrium Concentration of Boron,ug/mi Figure 1: Boron Adsorption isotherm of the soils. The B adsorption data of all the soils were tested by the langmuir and freundlich adsorption equations over a B concentration range of 0 to µgml- 1.The data did not conform to the simple langmuir equation. They however had conformed to the freundlich equation. The adsorption parameters from the freundlich equation are presented in table III. Table III: The Freundlich Coefficients (k and n) for boron adsorption by the soils. S/No. Soil k n Bama Dalori Konduga The freundlich coefficients (k and n) for B adsorption by the soils of Bama, Dalori and Konduga were 0.97 and 0.98; 0.41 and 0.82; and 0.67 and 2.53,respectively.The k value which was the adsorptive strength of the soil for B was highest for the soil of Bama and lowest for the soil of Dalori. The n value which was the slope of the curve was highest for the soil of Konduga and lowest for the soil of Dalori. The higher k value of the soil from Bama could be attributed to its relatively higher content of percentage clay. Mead (1981) had earliar reported that the constant could be correlated with adsorption capacity, as adsorption is essentially a surface phenomenon and therefore is closely related to particle size. Conformity of B adsorption isotherm to the freundlich equation had been reported by Agbenin (1996) and Kparmwang (2002) for some Nigerian soils.

5 Boron Adsorption by Some Semi-Arid Soils of North Eastern Nigeria 75 Conclusion The soils were deficient in Boron. The amount of B adsorbed increased with increasing B concentration for the soils of Bama and Konduga. The B adsorption data of the soils had conformed to the freundlich adsorption equation. The k value or the strength of adsorption of the soils for B was highest for the soil of Bama and lowest for the soil of Dalori. Addition of 1 to 2 µgml- 1 B to the soils will supply the required B concentration in the soil solution for optimum crop production. References [1] Agbenin, J.O Apparent cultivation effect on boron sorption in an Alfisol from the Northern Guinea Savanna of Nigeria. Arid Soil Research and Rehabilitation.10 : [2] Barrow,N.J.1989.Testing a mechanistic model. X. The effect of ph and electrolyte concentration on borate sorption by a soil. Journal of Soil Science.40: [3] Bouyoucos,G.J Hydrometer method for the determination of particle size analysis of soils. Agronomy Journal. 54: [4] Bray,R.H and A. Kurtz Determination of total, organic and available forms of phosphorus in soils.soil Science.59: [5] Choi,W.W and K.Y.Chen Evaluation of boron removal by adsorption on solids. Environmental Science Technology.13, [6] Elrashidi,M.A and G.A.O,Connor Boron adsorption and desorption in soil. Soil Science Society of America Journal.46: [7] Goldberg,S Reactions of boron with soils. Plant and Soil.193(1), [8] Goldberg, S and H.S Forster Boron adsorption on calcareous soils and reference calcites. Soil Science.152(4), [9] Goldberg,S. and R.A. Glaubig Boron adsorption and silicon release by the clay minerals kaolinite, montmorrilonite and illite. Soil Science Society of America Journal. 50: [10] Goldberg, S; D.L.Suarez and P.J. Shouse Influence of soil solution salinity on Boron adsorption by soils. Soil Science.173(6), [11] Keren, R. and F.T. Bingham Boron in water, soil and plants. P In B.A. Steward(ed.) Advances in Soil Science. Springer-Verlog, New York. [12] Kparmwang, T Boron adsorption and desorption characteristics of a basaltic soil in Nigeria. Nigerian Journal of Soil Research. 3: [13] Kparmwang,T ; Chude, V.O; and Esu, I.E Hydrochloric acid(0.1m) and DTPA extractable and total iron and manganese in Basaltic soil profiles of the Nigerian Savanna. Communication in Soil Science and Plant Analysis. 26: [14] Lombin, G Evaluating the micronutrient fertility of Nigeria,s semi-arid soils: boron and molybdenum. Soil Science and Plant Nutrition. 13:12-25.

6 76 Mohammed Kyari Sandabe et al [15] Mandal, B; T.K. Adhikari and D.K. De Effect of lime and organic matter application on the availability of added boron in acidic alluvial soils. Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis. 24(15/): [] Mead, J.A A comparison of the Langmuir, Freundlich and Temkin equations to describe phosphate adsorption properties. Australian Journal of Soil Research. 19(4), [17] Mezuman, U and R. Keren Boron adsorption by soils using a phenomenological adsorption equation. Soil Science Society of America Journal 45: [18] Reisenauer, H.M; L.M. Walsh and R.G. Hoeff Testing soils for Sulphur, Boron, Molybdenum and Chlorine. In: Soil Testing and Plant Analysis (Revised edition), L.M. Walsh and J.D. Beaton (eds). Soil Science Society of America; Inc. Madison, Wis. USA, pp [19] Walkley, A. and I.A. Black An examination of the Degtjareff method for determining soil organic matter and a proposed modification of the chromic acid titration methods. Soil Science. 37:29-38.

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