Growth performance of cucumber (&lt;i&gt;Cucumis sativus&lt;/i&gt; L.) in spent engine oil contaminated soil amended with compost of &lt;i&gt;Urena lobata&lt;/i&gt; L.

P.O. Eremrena,S.I. Mensah

doi:10.4314/gjpas.v23i1.6

Abstract

Studies to investigate the growth performance of Cucumis sativus L. (variety Nandini 731 F1) in spent engine oil contaminated soil amended with compost of Urena lobata was investigated at the University of Port Harcourt Ecological Centre. The soil samples were polluted at four different concentrations, namely, 2%, 3%, 4% and5% with spent engine oil and amended with decomposed Urena lobata at the rate of 0.25kg per 3kg of soil alongside a control (0%). The growth parameters examined were: plant height, number of leaves, leaf area, stem girth and sprouting percentage. The study showed that the control treated with compost gave the highest values for plant height 23.73cm, number of leaves 16.33, leaf area 84.73cm 2 and stem girth 2,2cm while the 5% contamination recorded the lowest values for plant height 1.83cm, number of leaves 1.33, leaf area 2.19cm 2 and stem girth 0.1cm. The number of leaves significantly (P<0.05) decreased with increase in the concentrations of spent engine oil from 2% to 5%. The 0% + compost treatment recorded the highest number of leaves while the number of leaves for 0% alone was comparable to 2%, 3% treatments but higher than 5% treatments. The growth parameters decreased with increase in the levels of contamination, however the application of Urena lobata significantly increased the plant height, number of leaves, leaf area and stem girth at P< 0.05. This study suggests that compost of Urena lobata is an effective organic supplement for remediation of spent engine oil contaminated soil where Cucumis sativus is cultivated.

Highlights

Spent engine oil which is known as used motor oil is produced when new engine oil is subjected to high temperature and high mechanical strain
This study was conducted to evaluate the growth performance of Cucumis sativus in spent engine oil contaminated soil amended with compost of Urena lobata
The soil amended with Urena lobata without contamination recorded the highest value (Fig.1)

Summary

INTRODUCTION

Spent engine oil which is known as used motor oil is produced when new engine oil (or motor oil) is subjected to high temperature and high mechanical strain It is a brown-to-brown liquid mixture of heavy metal contaminants such as zinc, lead, and chromium that come from engine parts as they wear down, including low to high molecular weight(C15 to C18) aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls, chlorodibenzofurans, lubricating additives and decomposition products (Wang et al, 2000).There are improper disposals of spent engine oil during manual oil changing operation which is not recycled but spilled and dumped by automobile and generator mechanics into runoff, gutters and open vacant plots, thereby polluting both soil and water (Anoliefo et al, 2000). This study was conducted to evaluate the growth performance of Cucumis sativus in spent engine oil contaminated soil amended with compost of Urena lobata

MATERIALS AND METHODS

RESULTS

DISCUSSION

CONCLUSION