Some Physical and Chemical Properties of Shambat Farm Soil

Abstract

This study was conducted in the farm of the Faculty of Agricultural Studies , Sudan University for Science and Technology , The soil of the farm belong to the Central Clay Plain of the Sudan that has been formed by alluvial deposit of the Nile, primarily of basaltic origin ,which are largely Vertisols .The some physical and chemical properties at five sites across the farm have been investigated during this study . The objectives of this work were the following: 1 to show similarities or differences of the sampled sites in order to provide more information on variability of the farm soil, 2 to further investigate these soil as a step toward their improvement and management, 3 to study the possibility of transferring technology and research findings from one site to another . The results of work indicated that the soils are variably affected by salinity and sodicity. Non-saline, slightly saline and moderately saline sub soil , and non sodic to moderately sodic soil are all found in the farm. Soil texture is clayey throughout, and hydraulic conductivity is very slow to slow .The whole soil profile is compacted except at the surface layer, the average bulk density is very high when the soil is dry. These soils are characterized by high water retention but rather narrow range of available moisture as evidenced from the difference between the moisture retained between field capacity and wilting point .