Wanjau Ruth

Impact of Mineral Levels on Soil Ph and Non-leguminous Plants Wanjau Ruth

Essential plant nutrients are necessary for plant growth, However, some of these nutrients are added as inorganic fertilizers due to high demand of food arising from fast growth in population which has necessitated the need to expand agricultural activities. This has lead to overuse of commercial inorganic fertilizers leading to drop in soil pH. Low pH reduces the availability of essential nutrients to plants and also low rate of decomposition of organic matter that is required to increase buffering capacity of the soil. Soil acidity is reduced by liming, which is an expensive exercise and does not add fertility to the soil. Leaves and leaf extracts of different plants have been suggested as an alternative to inorganic fertilizer and liming materials. However their efficacy has not been tested. The study, therefore, aimed at investigating the effect of growth rate of non-leguminous plants, including wheat (Triticum aestivum), kale (Brassica oleraceae var acephala) and coriander (Coriandrum sativum L)., grown on acidic soils treated with leaves and leaf extracts of plants known to have high buffering capacity and mineralisation.