Assessment of the Suitability of Groundwater for Irrigation at Federal University of Agriculture Makurdi, Benue State

Irrigation water suitability assessment plays an imperative role for sustainable utilization of scarce physical land resources. The study was aimed at assessing the suitability of groundwater quality for irrigation purpose at the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi. Random sampling techniques were utilized in the selection of samples of groundwater. Accordingly, five groundwater samples were collected from five boreholes for chemical analysis. The groundwater samples were analyzed for Ca2+, Mg2+, K+, Na+, CO32-, HCO3-, Cl-, SO42-, and NO3- besides pH and electrical conductivity (EC). Also, the Sodium Adsorption Ratio (SAR) for the groundwater samples and Exchangeable Sodium Percentage (ESP) for the soil samples were computed. Out of the analyzed 5 groundwater samples, 2 showed EC values below 250 and the remaining between 750 and 1161 dS/m, and pH values ranged from 6.3 to 7.6. Chloride ion concentrations in groundwater ranged from 64 to 78 mg/l; bicarbonate (HCO3-) values ranged from 0.18 to 0.23 (mg/l); and nitrate (NO3 - N) values were below 5 mg/l except in one sample that had 5.87 mg/l as its value. The results indicated that the groundwater in general was suitable for irrigation purpose. However, in order to achieve and sustain full yield potentials for a long period of time, and to avoid increase in salinity and avoid the occurrence of sodicity and toxicity hazard in future, proper irrigation scheme is required in the form of crop selection, fertilizer usage and suitable alternative management