Rice Farmers' Perception of the Impacts of Selective Herbicides on Soil Fertility in Damba Community, Gusau, Nigeria

Abstract

The study examined rice farmers’ perception of impacts of selective herbicide on soil fertility in Damba Community, Gusau, Nigeria, with objectives of determining whether using the herbicides reduces soil fertility; identify the observed impacts and perception of the farmers towards the use of the herbicide. The study utilized purposive sampling techniques and focus group discussion for sampling and data collection respectively. Content analysis/Grounded theory principles were used in the analysis. The study revealed that despite effectiveness of selective herbicides in weed control, farmers still prefer manual method of weed control. It was discovered that there is little difference in physiochemical properties of soil between before and after adopting selective herbicides. Opinion differs, while half of the respondents believe that selective herbicides causes fertility decline due to the changes observed in physiochemical properties of soil, half believe selective herbicides’ application does not reduces fertility in the study area. The study concluded that use of selective herbicides does not affects soil fertility but using the chemicals above recommended quantity per hectare may have long term implications. Thus, the study recommends that farmers should adhere to all the application guidelines