Soil & Environment (Dec 2020)

Goat droppings attenuates morphological and metabolic aberrations in cowpea seedlings grown in crude oil polluted soil

  • Chukwudi Ogwu,
  • Ebele Martina Ilondu ,
  • Solomon Matthew Utiome ,
  • Abigail Chioma Nmanedu ,
  • Oghenenyore Andy Ohwokevwo,
  • Fidelis Ifeakachuku Achuba

DOI
https://doi.org/10.25252/SE/2020/162236
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 39, no. 2
pp. 184 – 193

Abstract

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The ameliorative potential of goat droppings (GD) for crude oil polluted soil was explored in this study. The aim of this study was to evaluate the possibility of using stored goat droppings to attenuate crude oil toxicity on crop plants. It comprised six study groups as follows; (group 1= control; group 2=unpolluted soil+75g GD; group 3=unpolluted soil +150g GD; group 4= polluted soil; group 5=polluted soil+75g GD; group 6=polluted soil +150g GD). There was crude petroleum mediated significant decreases in stem length, leave length and breadth, plant height and root length. Also observed were significant reduction in chlorophyll and beta-carotene contents of cowpea seedlings grown in polluted soils compared to those raised unpolluted soils. Antioxidant indices (glutathione, superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, vitamin C, and uric acid) were all significantly reduced cowpea seedlings grown in polluted soil, compared to control. GD amendment of polluted soil significantly elevated the antioxidants near control values. Also observed were significant rise in lipid peroxidation levels in cowpea seedlings grown in crude oil polluted soils while GD amendment significantly reversed the trend. Furthermore, the activities of drug metabolizing enzymes (glutathione-s-transferase, sulphite oxidase, xanthine oxidase and aldehyde oxidase) reduced concomitantly with lipid peroxidation in seedlings grown in crude oil polluted soils. All observed aberrations in the seedlings grown in polluted soil were significantly reversed to near control values in seedlings grown in soil samples amended with GD with and without petroleum treatments. The positive effect of GD on growth parameters, chlorophyll and beta-carotene, antioxidants and oxidative stress indices in cowpea seedling grown in polluted and unpolluted soils are indicative of the efficacy of GD to reduce crude oil toxicity and holds a potential as organic manure.

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