Abstract
The present study investigated the effects of sodium azide (NaN3) treatments on plant survival and performance of soy bean in the phytoremediation of a hydrocarbon polluted soil. Soil was previously polluted separately with waste petrol-engine oil (WPEO) and waste diesel-engine oil (WDEO) respectively at 0, 1, 2.5, and 5% w/w oil in soil for two months prior to cultivation of soybean in polluted and control soils. Seeds were pre-treated with 0.016% w/v NaN3 solution `for 1 hour before sowing in polluted and control soils. Results showed that performance of soybean was adversely affected by oil pollution; the effects being more in the WDEO-polluted soil than in the WPEO-polluted soil. Number of pods per plant reduced comparatively with increase in level of oil pollution. There were 40 pods per treated plants in 1% WPEO, 30 pods in 2% WPEO, 23 pods in 5% WPEO, 25 pods in 1% WDEO, 19 pods in 5% WDEO and 11 pods in 5% WDEO, compared to 59 pods in the control plants. The removal of treated soybean plants necessitated significant removal of heavy metal fractions of the polluted soil. The present study also showed that removal of soybean plants resulted in significant reductions in pollution indices (hazard quotient and contamination factors) used in the study. Although oil pollution of soil negatively impacted on plant survival and yield performances of soybean plants, plant survival and phytoremediative capability were however enhanced by pre-treatment with NaN3.
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