Study of the pedological quality of an overexploited soil and the operating constraints: Case of market gardening sites from Kimuenza to Kinshasa

Abstract

The study aims at assessing the quality of the market garden soil of Kimuenza and the constraints faced with its productivity. The analysis was carried out on the one hand, by Hach UV-visible spectroscopy based on the beer-Lambert law, for the physicochemical parameters, by X-ray fluorescence for the saturation elements and on the other hand, by ICP- MS for metallic trace elements. The detection limit and the reproducibility of these methods have been confirmed. The obtained indicated that the soil is poor in nutrients necessary for plants, low water retention and a sandy texture and has a high rate of Cd varying between 9.6 to 12.1 mg/Kg in all sites.