Most of the arable land in Nigeria is characterized by fragile soils, having undergone intensive weathering, leaching and they are dominated by low activity clay, are infertile, have low nutrient response and are either acid or posses tendencies to become acid due to continuous or over cultivation. Soils especially around the cities in Nigeria are used for growing vegetables, cereals like maize, legumes like melon, soybean and cowpea which have been cultivated continuously for a period upward of 20 years due to the lack of arable land and the good market for the crops. Studies were conducted on the soil properties, soil reaction (pH); total nitrogen, organic carbon, base saturation, microbial populations (fungi and bacteria) and the determination of crop response to nutrient applications. The results obtained showed that the pH is acidic ranging from 4.1 to 5.1 and values of total nitrogen, organic carbon, base saturation, microbial populations and the identified nitrogen fixers are low. There is about a 60% yield reduction for the cultivated crops. The uptake of the applied nutrients by the crops is low consequently the soil is generally of low productivity.
