An assessment of the soil-conditioning capacity of gums exuded by some trees in Sierra Leone: I. Hydraulic conductivity measurements

Gums exuded by two trees via., Anacardium occidentale and Parkia bicolor, have each been applied in various concentrations to two local soils with pore structure. Changes in the value of the saturated hydraulic conductivity (K) have been used as the index for determining soil conditioning effect. The results show that the plant gums as well as poly-vinyl alcohol (PVA) exhibited positive soil-conditioning effect by altering the K of the soils with poor structure to the value obtained for the loamy soil. In almost all cases the relative effectiveness of the conditioners was in the order: gum from P. bicolor>gum from A. occidentale>PVA. The results are explained in terms of factors known to influence soil-polymer interactions. -from Authors