Contamination of soils and loss of productivity of Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.) caused by cement dust pollution
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Date
2013
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Int. J. Res. Chem. Environ.
Abstract
The effects of air pollution at the Diamond Cement (DIACEM) facility area on soil and cowpea plant (Vigna unguiculata L.) were observed using potted plants in areas close to the cement factory and control plants 7.9 km upwind of the factory. The results obtained indicated that soil parameters like pH, exchangeable cations (Ca, Mg and Na), phosphate and some heavy metals were elevated compared to controls. The cement dust around the factory had a significant reduction in the morphological and yield parameters including, chlorophyll content, leaf area, shoot length and pod length and weight in cowpea plant (Vigna unguiculata L.). The level of reduction was inversely proportional to the distance from the cement factory. The reduction in level of these variables may be attributed to the air borne cement factory emissions which contain toxic chemicals. The data obtained for both soil and plant contamination conforms to other studies. The study concludes that air pollution emitted from cement plants adversely affect soils and agricultural production in their immediate vicinities. It is recommended that the location of cement factories should take into consideration the positioning of arable croplands and that more stringent pollution control measures to reduce airborne particulates should be put in place.
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Keywords
Air pollution, Cowpea, Chlorophyll, Exchangeable cations, Cement dust, Soils, Available phosphate