ARID ZONE JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING, TECHNOLOGY & ENVIRONMENT AZOJETE June 2020. Vol. 16(2):363-374 Published by the Faculty of Engineering, University of Maiduguri, Maiduguri, Nigeria. Print ISSN: 1596-2490, Electronic ISSN: 2545-5818 www.azojete.com.ng Corresponding author’s e-mail address: wadata4all@yahoo.com 363 ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE CHARACTERIZATION OF SOILS IN EAST ANDWEST ZONES OF KANO RIVER IRRIGATION PROJECT, NIGERIA D. Mohammed1, M. M. Maina,2 I. Audu3, I .Y. Tudun Wada4* N. K. Nasiru5 and Abhishek Raj6 (1Department of Agricultural and Bio-Environmental Engineering, Kaduna Polytechnic, Kaduna, Nigeria 2Department of Agricultural and Environmental Engineering, Bayero University, Kano, Nigeria 3Department of Agricultural and Environmental Resources Engineering, University of Maiduguri, Maiduguri, Nigeria 4Advance Space Technology Laboratory, Bayero University, Kano, Nigeria 5National Space Research and Development, Bayero University, Kano, Nigeria 6Department of Forestry, Faculty of Agriculture & Veterinary Sciences, Mewar University, Rajasthan, India) *Corresponding author’s email address: wadata4all@yahoo.com 1.0 Introduction The most efficient method of ensuring sufficient food supply to support life is sustaining soil and environmental qualities. Management of tropical soils is important in addressing challenges of food security, soil degradation, environmental quality and the issue of the global carbon cycle (Chimdi et al., 2012). The knowledge of particle-size distribution or texture is a determining for many agricultural factors such as choice of crops, irrigation methods, management of soil and fertilizer application. It is very important in the management of agricultural soils for optimum crop production. Plants’ growth is influenced by the size of the soil particle because they control the availability of nutrient and root growth. Three types of grains control soil texture, these are sand, silt and clay (Chakraborty and Biswaranjan, 2015). Soil usually contain some amount of clay which influences its management and productivity (Newman, 1984). The amount of clay in soil is very important as the structure of soil depends very much on clay (Dixon, 1991). ARTICLE INFORMATION ABSTRACT The relationship between clay composition and on organic matter content, Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity, bulk density and location of soils in a different part of the Kano River Irrigation Project (KRIP) was studied by taking soil samples from forty (40) sectors. Sampling was done from the depth of 0-45 cm with soil auger, digger, a wooden plank and core samplers. Particles size analysis has shown that the percentage of clay varies from the range of 22.12% to 5.4% as observed in Raje and Butalawa respectively. The texture in most of the sectors was dominated by sandy loam. The organic matter (OM) content is typical of agricultural topsoil as all the sectors have organic matter within the range of 1–6%. Spearman correlation coefficient of 0.452 indicates that the relationship between % clay and Bulk density was more of a non-linear relationship than linear. The Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.876 between % clay content of the soil in all the sectors and saturated hydraulic conductivity represents a strong negative relationship between the variables, as % clay content increases, the strength of Sat. hydraulic conductivity tends to decrease. The % clay has no relationship with location of sectors based on the correlation analysis. The Pearson and Spearman coefficients between % Clay content and % OM were 0.407 and 0.473 respectively and this represent a positive relationship between the variables. It was recommended that organic matter content, saturated hydraulic conductivity and bulk density can be used as one of the determinant variables in the development of a model aimed at predicting the % clay of soils in KRIP. Application of organic manure and fertilizer to improve soil productivity and buffering capacity was also recommended due to low organic matter content. © 2020 Faculty of Engineering, University of Maiduguri, Nigeria. All rights reserved. Submitted 08 Feb., 2019 Revised 07 March, 2020 Accepted 10 March, 2020 Keywords: Clay Organic matter content Correlation Soil properties Kano River Irrigation Project mailto:wadata4all@yahoo.com http://www.azojete.com.ng mailto:wadata4all@yahoo.com Mohammed et al: Characterization of Soils in East And West Zones of Kano River Irrigation Project, Nigeria. AZOJETE,16(2):363-374. ISSN 1596-2490; e-ISSN 2545-5818, www.azojete.com.ng Corresponding author’s e-mail address: wadata4all@yahoo.com 364 The term clay refers to the soil separate consisting of particles less than 0.002mm in equivalent diameter. It influences many of the chemical and physical properties that make the soil a useful medium for plants’ growth (Dixon, 1991). The Cations Exchange Capacity (CEC) of clays is among their most important properties in retaining plant nutrient because the selectivity of cations influences soils as a medium for plant growth and disposal of wastes e.g., radioactive and toxic metal ions (Dixon, 1991). Under any environmental condition, plant growth and production are controlled by soil structure resulting from reactions involving clay. Soil with low clay content such as sand and silt exhibit a narrow range over which physical properties can change and such soils may have low fertility and therefore, unfavorable for plant growth (Page, 1952). Soils with little clay have a simple structure compared to the one that has a higher amount with a more complex structure. Clay contributes to the formation of soil structure by undergoing seasonal shrinking and swelling (Dixon, 1991). Compared to other soils separates, clay often have a large predominantly negatively charged large surface area that retains nutrients against leaching and buffers the soil against extreme change in pH. When clay degrades, it is a source of plant nutrients (Newman et al., 1984). Soil organic matter tends to increase as the clay content increases. Under similar climate conditions, the organic matter content in heavy textured soils like clayey is two to four times that of light- textured soil like sandy soil (Bot and Benites, 2005). Presence of clay in soil particularly with small amounts of organic matter has a great effect on soil properties. Sodium Adsorption Ratio and Exchangeable Sodium Percentage relationship (SAR-ESP) vary with soil type due to differences in clay minerals content and consequently soil texture (Ezlit et al., 2010). This paper is aimed at identifying variables that can be a determinant in the development of the proposed regression model for predicting the percentage of clay from saturated hydraulic conductivity, Bulk density, organic matter content and location. Coordinates of each irrigation sector were used for the location. The research will also study the relationship of clay as it exists in soil not as a soil separate with the aforementioned properties in the Kano River Irrigation Project (KRIP). The knowledge of this relationship is important due to the influence of these properties on soil condition that favours the growth of crops. The findings will be applied in the management of soil both under rain-fed and irrigated conditions. 2. Material and Methods 2.1 Study Area The study was conducted in Kano River Irrigation Project located between latitudes 11°32`N and 11°51`N and longitudes 8°20`E and 8°40`E within the Sudan savannah zone of Northern Nigeria (Figure1). Rainfall is usually between July and September with maximum amounts of 214.0 mm. Average annual rainfall ranges from 635 to 889 mm, about 60% of which falls in July and August and varies considerably from year to year (Maina et al, 2012). The geology of the area consists of older granites and younger Meta sediments of Precambrian to lower Paleozoic age. The soils are mostly moderately deep to deep and well-drained with sandy loam texture at the surface and sandy clay loam textured subsoil (Jibrin et al., 2008). http://www.azojete.com.ng mailto:wadata4all@yahoo.com Arid Zone Journal of Engineering, Technology and Environment, June, 2020; Vol. 16(2) 363-374. ISSN 1596-2490; e-ISSN 2545-5818; www.azojete.com.ng Corresponding author’s e-mail address: wadata4all@yahoo.com 365 Figure 1: Map showing the location of the study area. Source: Advance Space Technology Laboratory, BUK, 2019 The KRIP with a total area of 62,000 ha was planned to be implemented in two phases; the Kano River Irrigation Project Phases I and II. The main source of water for irrigation is the Tiga Dam which was constructed across River Kano between 1970 and 1974 and has a capacity of 1.968 billion m3, a length of 6km and a height of 48 m (Mohammed et al., 2015). 2.2 Collection of Soil Samples Soil samples were collected from forty (40) sectors in the study area for the measurement of soil properties. The collection was done with soil auger, digger, a wooden plank and core samplers. The auger was driven to a depth of 0-45 cm (active rooting depth for the crop grown in the study area). The collected samples were placed in a properly labeled polythene bags. The choice of the sampling points in a sector was done making sure that representative samples were collected. The coordinates of all the sampling points were taken using Garmin 78 GPS. The samples were taken to the laboratory for analysis. Laboratory Analysis Grain size analysis was performed in the laboratory by the Bouyoucos hydrometer method (Gee and Dr, 2002). The percentage of sand, silt and clay particles in the samples were determined using Eqns. 1 through 4 (Zakari et al, 2014):   100% 1  Ws CHRCSi (1) 2% 100C H RC W s   (2)  % % %S i S i C C   (3)  % 1 0 0 %S S i C   (4) where: Si = silt, C = clay, S = sand, CHR1 = First Corrected Hydrometer Reading and CHR2 = Second Corrected Hydrometer Reading, Ws= weight of sample. Bulk density was determined by the use of the core sampler method (Grossman and Reinsch, 2002). The saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat) was measured using the constant-head permeameter method (Klute and Dirksen, 1986). file:///C:/Users/user/Downloads/azojete143/www.azojete.com.ng mailto:wadata4all@yahoo.com Mohammed et al: Characterization of Soils in East And West Zones of Kano River Irrigation Project, Nigeria. AZOJETE,16(2):363-374. ISSN 1596-2490; e-ISSN 2545-5818, www.azojete.com.ng Corresponding author’s e-mail address: wadata4all@yahoo.com 366 2.4 Statistical Analysis Kriging which involved spatial interpolation was used to estimate values at unknown points of the sectors based on the values at sampling points. This is based on the fact that the result of the measured areas of the sectors in the KRIP close to points where samples were not taken have the most influence. Krige map of the parameters are presented in figures (2.0, 3.0 and 4.0). Pearson Correlation and Spearman coefficients were also used to determine the correlation between the variables viz-a-viz percentage clay content, saturated hydraulic conductivity, bulk density percentage organic matter content and location. 3. Results and Discussion The result of the percentage of clay, saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat), and Organic matter content as well as soil texture was presented in Table 1. The data was used to study the influence of clay composition on these related properties of soil. The texture in most of the sectors of the KRIP is dominated by sandy loam. Jibrin et al. (2008) reported moderately deep and well-drained soil with sandy loam texture at the surface and sandy clay loam textured in the subsoil as recorded in Cirin and other sectors. The percentage of clay varies from the range of 22.12% to 5.4% as observed in Raje and Butalawa respectively. Soil having more clays and organic matter percentage composition could exhibit higher buffering capacity which is associated with greater Cation Exchange Capacity (Goswami et al., 2012). Figure 2 shows the distribution of organic matter in KRIP. The mean value ranges from 0.956- 1.83%. Goswani et al. 2012 reported that organic matter composition in tropical soil is often less than 1% compared to a range of 5 - 10% in the temperate regions. The lowest organic matter content of 0.1% was observed at Danbaki sector located in Bunkure local Government (Table 1). Variations were observed in the organic matter contents of the soils studied and this was largely attributed to the management and the environmental condition they are subjected to. These might be the reason for the difference in organic matter composition among the sectors. Most of the productive agricultural soils have organic matter content ranging between 3-6% (Bot and Benites, 2005). The organic matter content of agricultural topsoil is usually in the range of 1–6% (SARE, 2012).The percentage composition of organic matter in some of the sectors is outside this range as seen in Figure 2. Table 1: Some Physical Parameters in the KRIP S/n . Sector Latitude Longitud e %clay Sat. H. C. mm/s B.Densit y g/cm3 % O. M Texture 1 Makwaro 11.79361 8.42555 13.76 37.09 1.48 0.93 sandy loam 2 Samawa 11.72648 8.41517 14.12 40.1 1.49 0.75 sandy loam 3 Maura 11.71181 8.41544 5.76 86.15 1.44 0.89 Loamy sand 4 Yadakwari 11.75556 8.43 16.12 19.85 1.42 2.3 Loam 5 Karfi 11.82691 8.49362 13.04 48.18 1.48 0.62 sandy loam 6 Yakasai 11.80896 8.48967 6.12 91.26 1.44 0.72 Loamy sand 7 Fako 11.80427 8.4489 7.76 72.48 1.45 1.13 Loamy sand 8 Majabo 11.80896 8.48967 6.12 96.48 1.44 1.17 Loamy sand 9 Kadawa 11.65653 8.42211 13.76 38.08 1.48 1.17 sandy loam 10 Agalawa 11.66929 8.41747 14.12 0.56 1.4 2.71 Silt loam 11 Raje 11.67514 8.41458 22.12 12.94 1.43 0.86 Loam 12 Bangaza 11.62383 8.4228 9.76 39.37 1.44 1.06 Loam 13 Yantomo 11.62702 8.4181 11.76 50.82 1.48 1.06 sandy loam 14 Waire 11.62011 8.42201 12.12 33.66 1.45 1.48 Loam 15 Gayere 11.6088 8.4401 10.12 42.15 1.45 2.13 sandy loam 16 Dorayi 11.60343 8.45695 15.76 30.06 1.49 1.13 sandy loam 17 Butalawa 11.80043 8.43136 5.4 85.05 1.43 0.96 sandy loam 18 Gore North 11.7838 8.41911 9.76 54.28 1.46 1.34 sandy loam http://www.azojete.com.ng mailto:wadata4all@yahoo.com Arid Zone Journal of Engineering, Technology and Environment, June, 2020; Vol. 16(2) 363-374. ISSN 1596-2490; e-ISSN 2545-5818; www.azojete.com.ng Corresponding author’s e-mail address: wadata4all@yahoo.com 367 In western canal, nine sectors which include Karfi, Yakasai, Butalawa, Raje, Azore, Makwaro, Maura, Samawa and Kosawa were found to have a value of less than 1 %. Sectors with the composition of organic matter below 1% in Eastern canal are Turba, Danbala, Bunkure east and Bunkure west (Table 1.). These imply the soils in such sectors are likely to have the low buffering capacity, low fertility and low microbial activities as well as low moisture retention(Overstreet and DeJong-Huges, 1992). The difference might be due to variation in texture, mineral composition and topography which influences organic matter accumulation through drainage. Organic matter could easily be lost from fine-textured soils whereas soil reach in clay minerals such as montmorillonite that favours accumulation of organic matter become aggregated (Goswami et al., 2012). These might be the reason for the variation in texture of the soils in the KRIP as reflected in Table 1. This study stresses the need for the application of manure and fertilizers to improve the productivity of soil in the KRIP. 19 Gore South 11.77794 8.41166 17.76 24.83 1.49 2.37 sandy loam 20 Rakauna 11.77254 8.41522 17.76 23.19 1.48 1.37 sandy loam 21 Azore 11.75889 8.40485 9.76 51.12 1.46 0.65 sandy loam 22 Makwaro T. 11.76028 8.41473 12.12 44.32 1.47 1.44 sandy loam 23 Agolas 11.76083 8.76083 21.76 14.88 1.47 2.3 Loam 24 Kosawa 11.77075 8.45932 13.76 44.27 1.5 0.82 sandy loam 25 Dalili 11.78264 8.42941 19.76 18.01 1.47 1.85 sandy loam 26 Kuruma 11.65692 8.54608 13.4 31.58 1.45 2.75 Loam 27 Turba 11.67368 8.5572 5.76 73.85 1.44 0.75 Sandy loam 28 Danbaki 11.6786 8.57298 12.12 33.66 1.45 0.1 Loam 29 Lautaye 11.68669 8.57095 13.76 40.1 1.49 1.85 sandy loam 30 Bunkure East 11.70087 8.54927 9.4 56.48 1.45 0.86 sandy loam 31 Bunkure west 11.70425 8.53818 5.76 73.85 1.44 0.62 Sandy loam 32 DANBALA 11.72052 8.52496 9.76 69.45 1.47 0.79 Loamy sand 33 UNGUWAR RIMI 11.7253 8.52774 11.76 40.61 1.46 1.1 sandy loam 34 Korawa 11.70209 8.53122 13.76 32.3 1.46 2.26 sandy loam 35 BARNAWA 11.59692 8.46341 11.4 43.52 1.46 1.68 sandy loam 36 SHIYE 11.62968 8.48921 9.76 49.57 1.46 1.48 sandy loam 37 KODE 11.6458 8.50751 13.76 26.97 1.44 2.33 Loam 38 CIRIN 11.64561 8.52347 23.64 13.36 1.53 1.34 Sandy clay loam 39 GAFAN 11.67092 8.41915 17.2 22.41 1.46 1.82 Loam 40 KORE 11.71632 8.42597 13.76 28.69 1.45 1.48 Loam file:///C:/Users/user/Downloads/azojete143/www.azojete.com.ng mailto:wadata4all@yahoo.com Mohammed et al: Characterization of Soils in East And West Zones of Kano River Irrigation Project, Nigeria. AZOJETE,16(2):363-374. ISSN 1596-2490; e-ISSN 2545-5818, www.azojete.com.ng Corresponding author’s e-mail address: wadata4all@yahoo.com 368 Figure 2.: Map Showing Distribution of Organic Matter In clayey soils, the ideal soil bulk density that favors plant growth ranges from 1.47 and 1.10 g/cm3 (Arshad et al., 1996). This is because it is an indicator of soil compaction. It also indicates the suitability for root growth and soil permeability and is very important for the soil-plant- atmosphere system (Katherine and Andrew, 2019). It is generally desirable to have soil with a Bulk Density <1.5 g/cm3 for optimum movement of air and water through the soil (Hunt and Gilkes, 1992). Bulk density above thresholds indicate impaired function or soil’s ability for structural support, water and solute movement, and soil aeration. However, the prevalent texture in the KRIP is sandy loam and in almost all the sectors, the value observed is below this range as seen in Figure 3. Therefore, soils in all the sectors are well aerated and will facilitate the movement of water through them. http://www.azojete.com.ng mailto:wadata4all@yahoo.com Arid Zone Journal of Engineering, Technology and Environment, June, 2020; Vol. 16(2) 363-374. ISSN 1596-2490; e-ISSN 2545-5818; www.azojete.com.ng Corresponding author’s e-mail address: wadata4all@yahoo.com 369 Figure 3.: Map showing Distribution of Bulk Density The bulk density of the clay is usually low in contrast to the coarse grain soils like sand which has larger values, but fewer, pore spaces. In clay soils with good soil structure, there is a greater amount of pore space because the particles are very small, and many small pore spaces in between. The difference in soils bulk densities usually alters their saturated hydraulic conductivity. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is a measure of soil’s ability to transmit water under saturation conditions. It is an essential parameter as it affects several processes such as infiltration rate, runoff, groundwater recharge, and nutrient transport in soil. The magnitude of saturated hydraulic conductivity is a function of texture among other factors, and is very essential in cultural and management practices, such as irrigation scheduling, drainage, flood protection, and control of erosion (García-Gutiérrez,et al, 2018). Variation of texture and bulk density in the KRIP might be the reason for the high range of Ksat in the sectors as seen in Figure 4. file:///C:/Users/user/Downloads/azojete143/www.azojete.com.ng mailto:wadata4all@yahoo.com Mohammed et al: Characterization of Soils in East And West Zones of Kano River Irrigation Project, Nigeria. AZOJETE,16(2):363-374. ISSN 1596-2490; e-ISSN 2545-5818, www.azojete.com.ng Corresponding author’s e-mail address: wadata4all@yahoo.com 370 Figure 4. Distribution of Hydraulic Conductivity in KRIP 4. Correlation Analysis The Pearson correlation coefficient between location (Latitude and longitudes) and % clay content as presented in Table 2 is -0.107 and represents a week negative relationship between the variables. The p-value of 0.511 for latitude as seen in Table 3 and Figure 5 indicates insignificant correlation as the value is higher than the significant level of 0.05. Table 2: Correlation Coefficients of the variables with location % Clay Saturated hydraulic conductivity (mm) Bulk density (g/cm3) % Organic Matter (r) Rho (r) rho (r) rho (r) Rho Latitude -0.107 -0.1 0.322 0.283 0.025 0.055 -0.202 -0.255 Longitude 0.072 -02 0.018 0.152 0.08 -0.052 0.077 -0.048 % Clay -0.876 - 0.442 0.452 0.407 0.473 r = Pearson correlation coefficient rho =Spearman correlation coefficient A similar relationship was observed between latitude and saturated hydraulic conductivity, latitude and bulk density, latitude and percentage of organic matter content. The same trend of week and insignificant relationship between longitude and saturated. hydraulic conductivity, bulk density, %Organic Matter were also observed as presented in Figure 6. http://www.azojete.com.ng mailto:wadata4all@yahoo.com Arid Zone Journal of Engineering, Technology and Environment, June, 2020; Vol. 16(2) 363-374. ISSN 1596-2490; e-ISSN 2545-5818; www.azojete.com.ng Corresponding author’s e-mail address: wadata4all@yahoo.com 371 252015105 1007550250 11.80 11.75 11.70 11.65 11.60 1.521.481.441.40 11.80 11.75 11.70 11.65 11.60 3210 %clay La tit ud e Sat. hydraulic conductivity (mm Bulk density (g/cm3) % O. M Scatterplot of Latitude vs %clay, Sat. hydraul, Bulk density, % O. M Figure 5: Scatter plot of Latitude vs % Clay, Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity, Bulk Density and % Organic Matter This implies that the clay composition in all the sectors has no relationship with the location of the sector in the KRIP. Correlation analysis has also shown that the bulk density, organic matter content and saturated Hydraulic conductivity of soils in all the sectors have no relationship with the location of the sectors in the scheme. Table 3: Strength (P-value) of the correlation coefficient % Clay Saturated hydraulic conductivity (mm) Bulk density (g/cm3) % Organic Matter (r) Rho (r) rho (r) rho (r) Rho Latitude 0.511 0.539 0.043 0.076 0.879 0.735 0.212 0.113 Longitude 0.658 0.217 0.91 0.348 0.624 0.749 0.636 0.769 % Clay - - 0.000 - 0.004 0.003 0.009 0.002 r = Pearson correlation coefficient, rho =Spearman correlation coefficient However, the results show that there is a linear relationship between % clay content and saturated hydraulic conductivity, latitude and bulk density, latitude and % Organic Matter. The Pearson correlation coefficient between % clay content of the soil in all the sectors and saturated hydraulic conductivity as seen in Table 2 is -0.876 and represents a strong negative relationship between the variables. This is evidenced in Figure 3. The p-value of 0.000 as shown in Table 3 is less than the significant level of 0.05 and that indicates significant correlation, i.e. as % clay content increases, the strength of saturated hydraulic conductivity tends to decrease. file:///C:/Users/user/Downloads/azojete143/www.azojete.com.ng mailto:wadata4all@yahoo.com Mohammed et al: Characterization of Soils in East And West Zones of Kano River Irrigation Project, Nigeria. AZOJETE,16(2):363-374. ISSN 1596-2490; e-ISSN 2545-5818, www.azojete.com.ng Corresponding author’s e-mail address: wadata4all@yahoo.com 372 252015105 1007550250 8.8 8.7 8.6 8.5 8.4 1.521.481.441.40 8.8 8.7 8.6 8.5 8.4 3210 %clay Lo ng itu de Sat. hydraulic conductivity (mm Bulk density (g/cm3) % O. M Scatterplot of Longitude vs %clay, Sat. hydraul, Bulk density, % O. M Figure 6: Scatter plot of Longitude vs Clay, Saturated Hydraulic Coductivity, Bulk Density and % Organic Matter The Pearson correlation coefficient between % clay content of the soil in all the sectors and bulk density is 0.452 and represents a medium positive linear relationship between the variables. However, the Spearman correlation coefficient of 0.452 which is slightly higher than the value of the Pearson coefficient indicates that the relationship is more of a non-linear relationship than linear. The p-values for both Pearson and Spearman coefficients (0.04 and 0.03 respectively) are less than the significant level of 0.05. This indicates that the correlation is significant. As percentage clay content increases, the bulk density tends to increase. The Pearson and Spearman coefficients between percentage Clay content and percentage O.M content are 0.407 and 0.473 respectively. This represents a positive relationship between the variables as seen in Figure 7. Based on the magnitude of the coefficient, it may be deduced that the relationship is more of non-linear. The p-values (0.009 and 0.002) of these coefficients, are also less than the significant level of 0.05. Hence, the correlation is significant. The reason for the increase might be due to the presence of sand particles more than the silt in the soils as higher percentage of sand was observed compared to other soil separates. 1007550250 1.521.481.441.40 25 20 15 10 5 3210 25 20 15 10 5 Sat. hydraulic conductivity (mm % cla y Bulk density (g/cm3) % O. M Scatterplot of %clay vs Sat. hydraulic c, Bulk density (g/, % O. M Fig. 7: Scatter plot of Clay vs Sat. Hydraulic, Bulk Density and % O.M http://www.azojete.com.ng mailto:wadata4all@yahoo.com Arid Zone Journal of Engineering, Technology and Environment, June, 2020; Vol. 16(2) 363-374. ISSN 1596-2490; e-ISSN 2545-5818; www.azojete.com.ng Corresponding author’s e-mail address: wadata4all@yahoo.com 373 Based on the above analysis, it is only % clay content of the soil that has a relationship with the other variables and hence organic matter content, Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity and bulk density can be used as one of the determinant variables in a model aimed at predicting the percentage clay in soils. 5. Conclusions The influence of clay composition on organic matter content, Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity and bulk density of soils in a different part of the KRIP was studied. The percentage clay varied from the range of 22.12 to 5.4% as observed in Raje and Butalawa respectively. The texture in most of the sectors is dominated by sandy loam. The organic matter content is typical of agricultural topsoil as all the sectors have an organic matter within the range of 1–6%. However, there is a need for the application of organic manure and fertilizer to improve soil productivity and buffering capacity as the organic matter of all the sectors is below the range of 3-6% for Productive soils. The variation of texture and bulk density in the KRIP might be the reason for the high range of Ksat in the sectors. The Pearson correlation coefficient between percentage clay and bulk density is 0.452 and represents a medium positive linear relationship between the variables. However, the Spearman correlation coefficient of 0.452 indicates that the relationship is more of a non-linear relationship than linear. The Pearson correlation coefficient (0.876) between percentage clay content of the soil in all the sectors and saturated hydraulic conductivity represents a strong negative relationship between the variables that is to say as the percentage clay content increases, the strength of saturated hydraulic conductivity tends to decrease. The percentage clay has no relationship which location of sectors based correlation analysis. The Pearson and Spearman coefficients between percentage Clay content and percentage organic matter are 0.407 and 0.473 respectively and this represents a positive relationship between the variables. Therefore, organic matter, Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity and bulk density can be used as one of the determinant variables in a model aimed at predicting the percentage clay of soils in KRIP. References Arshad, MA., Lowery, B. and Grossman, B. 1996. Physical Tests for Monitoring Soil Quality. In: Doran, J.W., Jones, A.J., editors. Methods for assessing soil quality. Madison, WI. P 123-41. Bot, A. and Benites, J. 2005. The Importance of Soil Organic Matter: Key to Drought Resistant Soil and Sustained Food production. Food and Agriculture Organization. Soils Bulletin 80, Rome, 94pp. Chakraborty, K. and Biswaranjan, M. 2015. 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