Effect of Diesel Fuel Contamination on Seed Germination and Growth of Four Agricultural Crops
Journal Title: Universal Journal of Environmental Research and Technology - Year 2012, Vol 2, Issue 4
Abstract
Plant toxicity bioassays through fast germinating agricultural crops can indicate the phytoremediation potential, effects on growth and survival and also assess extent of pollution. In the present study, the phytotoxic effect of diesel fuel contamination was studies on four agricultural crops namely Zea mays, Vigna radiata, Sorghum vulgare and Pennisetum glaucum at four levels of contamination. All the test plant species tolerated diesel fuel contamination at 2.5 - 5% levels and the total percent seed germination was between 43.7 to 86.7%. But fourth treatment level (7.5% diesel) significantly reduced the germination in Zea mays (74% decrease) followed by Pennisetum glaucum (67% decrease). Diesel fuel contamination also caused a reduction in the length of the radicle of the four crop plants studied. At 5% level of contamination, the longest radicle (1.92 cm) was recorded in Vigna radiata followed by Zea mays (1.36 cm). Also at 10% level of diesel contamination these two test species showed more radicle growth than Sorghum vulgare and Pennisetum glaucum. There was a reduction of radicle growth of all the species in subsequent treatment levels. Almost same trend was observed in plumule growth of all four species. Phytotoxicity bioassays results revealed that Zea mays and Vigna radiata species exhibited better growth and germination even at high concentration of diesel as compared to Sorghum vulgare and Pennisetum glaucum. Hence, these two species have higher potential for phytoremediation of diesel contaminated soils.
Authors and Affiliations
Jyoti Luhach and Smita Chaudhry
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP31749
- DOI -
- Views 383
- Downloads 1
Assessment of CO2 Emissions in the Petroleum Refining in Cameroon
CO2 has risen to the top of the list of the energy sector's environmental impacts and petroleum refining in particular, as the source of anthropogenic climate change. CO2 emissions inventory from the petroleum refining...
Ambient Air Quality Monitoring and Possible Health Effects Due to Air Pollution in Hosur Town, Tamilnadu, India
The study is to focus on ambient quality of air in Hosur, Tamil Nadu, India and its health effect on people. Hosur is a municipal town in Krishnagiri district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The model which was consi...
Biogeochemistry of Groundwater beneath On-site Wastewater Systems in a Coastal Watershed
The goal of this study was to determine if on-site wastewater system PO4 and coliform contributions to groundwater were significant enough to be included in water quality management plans for a coastal watershed. Monit...
Potential of Cyperus Papyrus in Yard-Scale Horizontal Flow Constructed Wetlands for Wastewater Treatment in Cameroon
The objective of this study was to evaluate the performances of Cyperus papyrus in horizontal flow constructed wetlands used for domestic wastewater treatment. Two system configurations were used: the horizontal surfac...
Composition and Characterization Study of Solid Waste from Aurangabad City
With the progress of civilization and rapid industrial development the problem of increase in waste generation becomes more complex in urban areas. The composition and characteristics of solid waste vary from place to...