AGRI5002: Soil Amendment Analysis of Alluvial Soils, Botswana

This report provides a summarized analysis of soil amendment strategies for the alluvial soils of Botswana, focusing on the challenges of low organic matter and nutrient depletion due to agricultural practices. It explores how soil carbon sequestration can improve soil quality and increase crop yields. The study emphasizes the use of organic materials and the combination of organic and inorganic fertilizers to enhance soil organic carbon levels. The report highlights the importance of soil management practices, such as rice straw retention, to improve soil structure and fertility, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions. It proposes an experimental design involving different treatments of organic and inorganic matter to evaluate their effects on soil properties and crop production. The report aims to provide convenient, reliable, and promising strategies for increasing soil carbon levels and improving agricultural outcomes in Botswana.

Advanced Soil Mechanics: Task B
This part provides a summarized analysis of the collusively soils of Botswana. As a result of
continued agricultures and the increased pressure on the soil to provide more yields, the soil has
reduced to bear very low organic matter with time with the availability of the nutrients having
significantly reduced and hence reduced quality as well as quantity of the crop yields.
Al soils tend to be of value and bear any meaningful need b the organic matter present in them
beside carbon sequestration that they bear. Soil carbon sequestration may be used as a way of
improving the quality of the soil and hence noting an increase in the quality. The physical and
chemical properties of the soil may be ameliorated by increasing the organic carbon which in
turn results into an increase in the yield of the farm. Enhancing and improving the soil organic
carbon requires the adoption of the various maintenance practices that are commonly used by the
local farmers including the use of fertilizers, elimination of tillage as well as the use of raw straw
all of which are ideal only for short term enhancements of the soil organic carbon.
On the other hand, combining the chemically manufactured fertilisers and organic materials
have shown great potential of increasing the soil organic carbon sequestration in the alluvial soils
that are found in the dry regions of Botswana. The structure of the soil can to a great extent be
enhanced through proper management of the soil and assist in maintaining the soil carbon in the
soil surface alongside improving the maize systems and production. Application of the organic
matter exogenously alongside the use of straw are important in reducing the amount of chemical
fertilizers being adopted alongside compensating for the significant losses in the soil carbon
which occur due to variations in the uses of land over time. Thus, soil amendment with the use of
organic materials provide a strategy that I convenient, reliable and promising for increasing the
levels of soil carbon in the alluvial soils found in the arid and semi-arid regions of Botswana.

One of the most highly recommended soil amendments strategies for the soil in question is rice
straw retention which can be used in increasing the levels of soil organic carbon leading to an
increase in the soil fertility and finally on the crop production levels.
An investigation of the techniques for soil amendments and their effects on the alluvial soils of
Botswana can be attained through developing ten different treatments of both organic and
inorganic matter of different compositions and structures. The design of the experiment is done
in such a way that the used blocks are randomized to eliminate chances of having predefined
opinion on the outcomes of the experiment. Measurements are taken on the various parameters
of the experiment including the height of the plants, the germination percentage as well as the
crop yield with regard to quality and quantity. A comparison is to be made between the
parameters as noted in the treated parameters as well as those of the control that will be used as
the basis of making conclusions and further recommendations.