Surveillance of the condition of bacteria and Amaranthus viridis in a gasoline contaminated soil

Abstract

The condition of bacteria and Amaranthus viridis in gasoline-contaminated soil was surveyed. The soil was treated with different concentrations of petrol oil: 0 ml (control), 18, 56, 112, 168 and 224 ml. Each of the concentrations was in triplicates. Seventeen (17) bacterial isolates were recovered from the control soil while twenty (20) bacterial isolates were recovered from the polluted soil. A total of twenty four (24) different genera were recovered from the soil. The organisms areAcinetobacter ceticus, Actinomyces sp, Aerococcus viridians, Alcaligenes paradoxus, Arthrobacter, Bacillus cereus, Bacillus polymxa, Bacillus subtilis, Chromobacterium violaceum, Clostridium sp., Corynebacterium hydrocarbodastus, Corynebacterium kutsceri, Corynebacterium xerosis, Cytophaga sp., Erwinia sp., Flavobacterium sp., Micrococcus luteus, Proteus vulgaris, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Pseudomonas putida, Sarcina ventricule, Serratia sp., Staphylococcus aureus, and Streptococcus sp. The pH, temperature, organic matter content, moisture content and water holding capacity of the soil were determined. A. viridis had 100% germination in both the control (0 ml) and 18 ml gasoline-treated soils while it had delayed germination in the other treatments (56, 112, 168 and 224 ml). The results obtained in this study showed that gasoline spillage posses a great threat to the survival and development of plants. It also revealed that certain bacteria could survive the gasoline-contaminated soil and thus may be useful in biodegradation and/or bioremediation of gasoline contaminated soils. Key words: Surveillance, bacteria, Amaranthus viridis, gasoline, contaminated soil.