Preliminary study of mechanic workshop soil amended with juice extracted from Lime (Citrus aurantifolia)

Abstract

Bioremediation potential of lime extract (Citrus aurantifolia) on mechanic workshop soil was studied for a period of 56 days. The microbial enumeration was carried out using serial dilution and pour plate method. The bacteria count ranged from 6.3×103 to 6.8×104 cfu/g for oil free soil (OFS), 0.8×103 to 9.8×104cfu/g for mechanic workshop soil (MS) and 1.24×104 to 4.16×104cfu/g for mechanic workshop soil amended with lime extract (MSAL). The fungal count ranged from 2.1×103 to 2.7×103 cfu/g for amended soil, 2.5×103  to 3.0× 104 cfu/g for unpolluted and 2.2×103 to 4.0×104 cfu/g for polluted soil. There were significant differences in both bacteria and fungi count at 5% probability level. Micrococcus sp, Staphylococcus sp, Pseudomonas sp, Bacillus sp, Proteus sp Mucor sp, Microsporum sp, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus, Saccharomyces sp, Rhizopus sp and Aspergillus fumigatus were isolated in this study. MSAL had higher moisture content, phosphorus, organic matter, organic carbon and nitrate compared to OFS and MS. There were significant differences (p<0.05) in the pH, phosphorus, organic matter, organic carbon between OFS, MS and MSAL. This study revealed that lime (Citrus aurantifolia) extract has a potential for remediating mechanic workshop soil.