Abstract

The study was carried out in the Humboworeda, Wolaita zone, southern Ethiopia to assess physic-chemical properties of soil mineral commonly consumed by livestock’s. Bole and makaduwa are mineral soils are commonly used as a livestock feed around Humbo Woreda. The mineral soils samples were collected from the study site from the depth of 30 cm to analyze for both mineral content and physical property analysis. The result revealed that the mean content of macro(%) and trace(ppm) elements in bole and makaduwa were Ca (0.41, 0.51); Mg (0.20, 0.16); K (0.31, 0.40); Na (3.01, 4.86); P (0.02, 0.04); Fe (92.24, 87.09); Mn (165, 120); Zn (12.16, 17.56) and Cu (4.52, 5.06), respectively. High content of Na (P<0.01) and Mn (P<0.001) was observed in makaduwa mineral soil. The pH of bole and makaduwa is 10.9 and is 11.1, respectively. The texture of bole is silt loam while makaduwa is clay. The concentration of Ca and Na in makaduwa was at the level to meet the Ca and Mg requirement of ruminants. The Na, Fe and Mn contents in both bole and makaduwa are above the requirement level, whereas Zn, P and Cu contents are below the requirement. It is recommended that strategic mineral survey which should include analysis of soil, water, grass and animal tissue must be undertaken in the different areas of the region in order to detect mineral imbalances for proper mineral supplementation.