The Effect of Hydrocarbon Pollution on Niger Delta Root Crops: A Case Study of Cocoyam [Colocasia Esculenta]
P. N. Onwuachi-Iheagwara
P. N. Onwuachi-Iheagwara, Department of Petroleum Engineering, Delta State University of Science and Technology Ozoro, Nigeria.
Manuscript received on 03 October 2023 | Revised Manuscript received on 10 October 2023 | Manuscript Accepted on 15 October 2023 | Manuscript published on 30 October 2023 | PP: 29-36 | Volume-12 Issue-11, October 2023 | Retrieval Number: 100.1/ijitee.L974111121223 | DOI: 10.35940/ijitee.L9741.10121123
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© The Authors. Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering and Sciences Publication (BEIESP). This is an open access article under the CC-BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Abstract: This paper investigates effects of re-occurring oil spillages on cocoyam, Colocasia esculenta (L.). It studies changes in petiole lengths, leaf blades, chlorophyll concentrations in leaves, and PAH and BTEX concentrations in tubers for three generations under diverse conditions. 8 10-gallon grow bags were used: Grow bags 5–8 were treated with a controlled quantity (4 L/cubic metre) of liquid crude hydrocarbon in June 2019–2021, with two replications, after a 2-3-day interval within a week. In grow bags 3, 4, 7, and 8, poultry manure was applied once, 2 months after small seedlings emerged from the soil surface. Grow bags 1, 2, 3, and 4 served as “controls” for non-contaminated growth. Grow bags 7 and 8 were treated with hydrocarbons and poultry manure. In the first generation, coco yams planted in grow bags 7-8 showed growth responses (average values of 1.04 m, 51 cm, 4.45 mg/g for petiole length, leaf blade length, and chlorophyll concentration, respectively) very similar to coco yams planted in pristine soil with poultry manure with average values of 1.00 m, 50 cm, 3.45 mg/g. The cocoyams planted in pristine, organic-rich soils showed a similar response with or without fertilisers (average values of 0.98 m, 48 cm, 1.83 mg/g and 1.00 m, 50 cm, 3.45 mg/g), with progressively smaller leaves as the generation increased. The cocoyams in hydrocarbon-impacted soils generally perform poorer than those in uncontaminated soil, with or without poultry manure, by the second and third generations. Poultry manure on soils with recurring hydrocarbon contamination exacerbates soil weakening. Mean PAH and mean BTEX concentrations in tubers were 0.001-0.0035 mg/kg and <0.001 mg/kg, respectively. Cocoyams are not potent BTEX bioactive scavengers, but they gradually become more concentrated in PAH.
Keywords: BTEX, Cocoyam, Hydrocarbon Pollution, Niger Delta Root Crops, PAH
Scope of the Article: Environmental Engineering