Evaluation of Anthill soil as a fertility enhancer in Maize crop production

Abstract

Anthill soil is soil carried by ants from underground as they form their nests making a mound at the entrance. Active anthills are thus enriched with soil organic matter and inorganic nutrient elements, such as Ca, K, Mg and P, compared with adjacent surface soils. This study was carried out to determine the nutrient composition of anthill soil in Batoka district (Southern Province, Zambia) and to determine the response of maize biomass yield to anthill soil. Different proportions of anthill soil to surrounding soil were used. The anthill soil was found to have a higher pH and more Ca, P, Mg and Zn than the surrounding soil. It was also established that there were significant differences in the biomass yield of the different treatments.