Effect of Gully Erosion on Soil Properties in Some Soils of Edo State, Nigeria

The research was carried out to investigate the effects of mycorrhizal inoculation and crop rotation on the growth and biomass production of maize. Maize as a staple food is grown in almost all part of the world but the threat to its sustainable production is declining soil nutrients. It had been reported that continuous use of chemical fertilizer has negative effects on ecological system and can not sustain crop production for long. Alternatively, incorporation of legume into maize based farming and inoculation with Arbuscular Mycorrhiza fungi combine with cultural agricultural system is a promising practice for sustainable maize production. The experimental design was a randomized complete block design in three replications comprising mycorrhizal inoculated and uninoculated, continuous and rotated maize treatment. The result showed that there was significant effect (P = 0.05) of mycorrhizal inoculation on growth and biomass production of maize in both continuous and rotated maize. The dry matter production of inoculated maize was between 6 – 43% higher than that of uninoculated counterpart. Similarly, there was effect of crop rotation on yield and biomass production of maize. The inoculation of maize with this microorganism combined with crop rotation can form part of agricultural practice in sub-Saharan African to ensure sustainable maize production.