Abstract:
Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) field experiment was carried out on
agricultural farm land at Teaching and Research Farm of the Federal University of
Technology, Akure. The research is aimed at monitoring soil water dynamics and
evaluating the impact of soil properties such as moisture, electrical conductivity, salinity
and pH, on the growth and yield of Cucumber (Cucumis sativus) using 2D-Electrical
Resistivity Tomography (ERT) method. Geophysical survey was conducted using
Ohmega resistivity meter on humus soil packed inside six wooden boxes each of
dimension 3.6 m × 0.6 m × 0.45 m, while Dipole-dipole array with electrode spacing of
0.1, 0.2 and 0.3 m was adopted for the measurement. A total of forty-eight (48) soil
samples were collected from the study site and were analyzed in the laboratory with the
aid of Electric oven, Jenway conductivity meter, Hanna salinity meter and pH meter,
while the soil samples were limited to the top soil within 0.1 m depth. Data collected on
plants includes; vine length measured at 2 weeks, 3 weeks and 4 weeks after planting,
number of fruits per plant, fruit length, and fruit diameter which were subjected to
analysis of variance (ANOVA). The inverted electrical soil resistivities range between
276 - 492, 112 - 202, 12 – 60 and, 64 - 207 ohm-m, at the pre-planting, planting,
flowering and harvesting stage of the crop respectively. The laboratory determined soil
parameters range between 10 – 70 %, 180 – 600 s/m, 180 - 700 ppm and 7.5 - 9.3 for
moisture, conductivity, salinity and pH respectively. The inverted soil resistivities and
laboratory soil parameters were correlated using regression analysis from which
mathematical models were generated and interpreted accordingly. This study has
demonstrated that geophysical applications can enhance agricultural practices and
reduce cost by providing a fast and cost effective means of monitoring soil properties for
high yields.
