Heavy metal

This study was aimed at evaluating the water quality profile of Ekenwan River located in Edo-South, Nigeria and also to determine the antibiotics sensitivity pattern of its isolated bacteria. Water samples were collected from upstream and downstream stations of the river and they were designated as station A and station B respectively; standard analytical and bacteriological procedures were adopted. The pH of water samples for station A ranged from 5.11-5.86 while and station B ranged from 4.11-5.94.

Urine-impacted-soils were collected from different sampling points located within the vicinity of Iyaro Motor Park and analysed for physicochemical, aromatic hydrocarbon and bacteriological profiles. Standard analytical procedures which included serial dilution and pour plating, usage of appropriate meters, atomic absorption spectrophotometry and gas chromatography were employed in the evaluation of the bacteriological, physicochemical, heavy metal and poly aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) profiles of the soils.

The growth of seeds and tubers is a major concern due to increased salt stress and widespread accumulation of heavy metals in agricultural land. Amylase is an important enzyme involved in germination processes and seedling development. This study was carried out to determine the effects of salt stress and heavy metals on the activity of amylase in in vitro germinated Cyperus esculentus. Sodium chloride (NaCl), at concentrations of 0, 50, 100, 150, 200, 250 and 300 mM, were used to evaluate the effect of salt stress.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of poultry manure on the growth of Amaranthus caudatus with a view to establishing the optimum poultry manure treatment for its growth. The study was carried out between the months of February and May 2020, in a portion beside the botanical garden in the University of Benin, consisted of three (03) treatments namely PM1 (10%), PM2 (20 %), and PM3 (30 %) with poultry manure and control (PM0) in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) and replicated three times.

This study was carried out in the undergraduate project plot of the department of Plant Biology and Biotechnology, University of Benin from March to July 2020, to determine the impact of lead contamination on okra plant. A field experiment was conducted using 4 levels of Pb pollution namely 25, 50, 75, 100 mg/kg and control. Each bag containing 5 kg of air dried sandy loam soil was arranged in a completely randomized design (CRD) with three replicates. Five (05) seeds were sown in each bag. All bags were watered regularly. Plants were thinned down to one per bag after a week of emergence.