Discriminant Analysis and It’s Application to the Oil Palm Cultivation in Nigeria

There are various environmental factors that need to be considered when assessing the suitability of site for oil palm cultivation some of which are; climate, vegetation, and the soils. Using soil morphology and degree of profile development or the nature of the parent bedrock and the vegetation formed grouped the soil supporting oil palm as generally belonging to five parent materials. The various soil groups includes:- Crystalline metamorphic and Igneous rocks, Shale mixed with sand stone and clay, Coastal plain sand, Coastal alluvium and Fresh water swamp, these groups are presumed to differ on several physiochemical properties and formed the basis on which land is being selected for oil palm cultivation. The classification of soil location in future into any of the five soil types on the basis of the soil characteristics can be facilitated using different approach, but in this study, discriminant analysis will be used to measure the success rate of classifying the soil types by using the physiochemical properties soils in the Raphia growing zone of Nigeria. The research is aimed at applying discriminant analysis thereby satisfying the following objectives: Use discriminant analysis to predict soil group membership in order to correctly classify future unknown observation into any of the five soil groups based on the observed predictors (soil characteristics) in soils supporting Raphia palms of southern Nigeria, Form linear combinations of the discriminating predictor variables that differs significantly in their group means, Identify the soil properties that best discriminates among the soil types. The findings revealed the utility of several multivariate statistical methods for soil research, as well as a better knowledge of soil heterogeneity in Nigeria's oil palm area. This information will be important in measuring soil diversity for crop enhancement and in developing agricultural management strategies, particularly in Nigeria's oil palm area.