JOURNAL OF BIOSCIENCE AND BIOTECHNOLOGY DISCOVERY
Integrity Research Journals
ISSN: 2536-7064
Model: Open Access/Peer Reviewed
DOI: 10.31248/JBBD
Start Year: 2016
Email: jbbd@integrityresjournals.org
Assessment of heavy metal concentration in vegetables grown within fungicide treated Cocoa plantations in Akamkpa Local Government Area, Cross River State, Nigeria and implications to human health
https://doi.org/10.31248/JBBD2017.031 | Article Number: F321286D2 | Vol.2 (3) - June 2017
Received Date: 06 April 2017 | Accepted Date: 01 May 2017 | Published Date: 30 June 2017
Author: F. E. Ekpo
Keywords: Heavy metals, Akamkpa communities, edible vegetables, fungicide treated Cocoa plantation
The study was carried out to investigate the concentrations of heavy metals in soil samples and edible vegetables (Heinsia crinita and Gnetum africana) grown within fungicide treated cocoa plantation in Akamkpa communities of Cross River State Nigeria. In each sampling community, the edible vegetables and soil samples were collected for the period of three months (March to May) and were replicated three times. The levels of heavy metals in soil and edible vegetable samples collected were determined using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. The concentrations of heavy metals in soil samples collected from fungicide treated coca plantations were higher than those recorded in the control location in all the sample locations. The concentrations of heavy metals in edible vegetables (Heinsia crinita and Gnetum africana) collected from fungicide treated cocoa plantations exceeded the maximum permissible limits values of heavy metals for edible vegetables. The soils and edible vegetables (Heinsia crinita and Gnetum africana) in the fungicide treated cocoa plantations in Akamkpa communities are contaminated by heavy metals and may pose serious adverse health effect to the consumers and the ecosystem.
| Adeyeye, F., & Balah, H. (2007). Fungicide-Derived Copper Content in Soil and Vegetation Component, Owena Cocoa (Theobroma Cacao L.) Plantations in Nigeria. Bangladesh J. Sci. Ind. Res., 41(3-4), 129-140. Crossref |
||||
| Alloway, J. (1995). Soil Pollution and Land Contamination. In Pollution: Causes, Effects and Control. (Ed. Harrison, R.M.). Cambridge: The Royal Society of Chemistry, p. 318. | ||||
| Arora, G., & Musa, A. (2008). Organochlorine insecticides in the blood of occupationally people in Sudan. Bull. Environ. Contam. Toxicol., 16, 15-17. | ||||
| Bempah, M., Dickson, N., & Ormand, K. (2011). Distribution of fungicide – derived copper in soils, litter and vegetation of different aged stands of coffee (Coffee arabica L.) in Kenya. Plant and Soil, 77, 263-270. | ||||
| Bolger, C., Chaussod, R., Leveque, J., Dousset, S., & Andreux, F. (2000). The relationship between copper accumulated in vineyard calcareous soils and soil organic matter and iron. European Journal of Soil Science, 53, 663-669. | ||||
| Bowers, K., Wiechula, D., & Korus, I. (2001). Metal contamination of farming soils affected by industry. Environment International, 30, 159-165. | ||||
| Claeys, U., Kuo, S., Heilman, A., & Baker, S. (2011). Distribution and forms of Copper, Zinc, Cadmium, Iron, and manganese in soils near a Copper smelter. Soil Sci., 135,101-109. | ||||
| Dudka G., & Miller, B. (2009). Residues of organochlorine insecticides in some fishes and birds in the Gezira of Sudan. Pesticide Science, 7, 150-152. | ||||
| Ekpo, F., Ukpong, E., & Udoumoh, I. (2014). Bioaccumulations of Heavy Metals on Soil and Arable Crops Grown in Abandoned Peacock Paint Industry in Ikot Ekan, Etinan Local Government Area, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. Universal Journal of Environmental Research and Technology, 4(1), 39-45. | ||||
| FEPA (1991). Guidelines and standards for Environmental Pollution Control in Nigeria. Federal Environmental Protection Agency (FEPA), Lagos, Nigeria. | ||||
| George, C. (2006). Why farmers continue to use pesticides despite environmental, health and Sustainability costs. Ecological Economics, 39, 449-462. | ||||
| Gutormsen, K., Sander, R., & Korus, I. (1995). Metal contamination of farming soils affected by industry. Environment International, 30, 159-165. | ||||
| Hayes, N. (2004). Assessing the impact of pesticides on the environment. Agric. Ecosystems Environ., 60, 81-96. | ||||
| Hodgson, N. (2003). Long-Term Studies of Fungicide Concentrations in Greenhouses: Exposure Risks after Spraying in Greenhouses. J. Agric Food Chem., 44, 2885-2888. | ||||
| Isong, R. (2007). Impact of Cocoa Research innovation on poverty alleviation in Nigeria. Inaugural Lecture of the Nigeria Academy of Arts and Science, p. 32. | ||||
| Juraske, P., Badilla-Ohlbaum, R., Allen, H., & Gustavo, E. (2001). Effect of soil copper content and pH on copper uptake of selected vegetables grown under controlled conditions. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 21, 1736-1744. | ||||
| Kabata-Pendias, A., & Pendias, H. (1992). Trace Elements in Soils and Plants. 2nd edition CRC Press Inc., Boca Raton, p. 342 | ||||
| More, M., Giller, K., Witter, E., & McGrath, P. (2003). Toxicity of heavy metals toMicroorganisms and microbial processes in agricultural soils: A review. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 30, 1389-1414. | ||||
| Nzegbule, E. (2007). Pollution distribution and effects in forest adjacent to smelters. Journal of Environmental Quality, 13, 377-382. | ||||
| Smith, L. (2010). Effect of long-term application of copper on soil; and grape (Vitis vinfera). Canadian Journal of Soil Science, 74(3), 345-347. | ||||
| Steel, R., & Torrie, J. (1980). Principles and procedures of statistics- a biometrical approach, 3rdedition, McGraw-Hill Book Coy. NY, USA. | ||||
| Tan, G., & Tan, W. (1990). Additive inheritance of resistance to pot rot caused by Phytophthora palmivora in cocoa. Theor. Appl., Pp. 32-46. | ||||
| Taylor, A. (2000). Organochlorine insecticides level s in human blood samples collected from residents in areas of limited and intensive insecticides use in the Sudan. M. Sc. Thesis, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Khartoum. | ||||
| Ukpong, P. (2010). Assessment of heavy metals pollution in fungicide treated Cocoa plantations in Northern Cross River state, Nigeria. Journal of Applied Biosciences, 33, 2037-2046. | ||||
| Wagner, J. (2003). Pollution distribution and effects in forest adjacent to smelters. Journal of Environmental Quality, Pp. 13 377-382. | ||||
| Walter, M., Ansari, G., & Mueller, J. (2005). Heavy metals in freshly deposited sediments of the Gomati River (a tributary of the Ganga River): Effects of human activities. Environmental Geology, 29, 247-252. | ||||
| World Health Organization (WHO). (2001). Food additives and Contaminants, Joint FAO/WHO Standards Programme, Pp. 1-289. | ||||
Copyright © 2025 Integrity Research Journals. All rights reserved.