The characteristic levels of heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, Ni and Zn) of soil profiles of automobile mechanic waste dumps were studied. The concentration of heavy metals decreased with the depth of the profile and lateral distance from the dumpsites. The levels found in this study exceeded background concentrations and limits for agricultural and residential purposes. The distribution pattern of heavy metals in the soil profiles were in the following order Pb > Zn > Cu > Cd > Ni > Cr. The mechanic waste dumps represent potential sources of heavy metal pollution to environment. The elevated levels of heavy metals in these soil profiles constitute a serious threat to both surface and groundwater.

This study evaluated the use of urine for soilless cultivation (as Peeponics) of Amaranthus viridis and Corchorus olitorius vegetables. This is a laboratory-based experiment involving optimization of amount of urine and dilution required for optimal growth of the test plants. Based on laboratory results, the experiments were scaled up. About 50 L of raw urine was collected from a male postgraduate student's hall of residence

Experiments were carried out in the Nursery of the Department of Forestry and Environmental Management, the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike in Abia State during 2016 and 2017 cropping seasons to determine the effect of NPK fertilizer on the growth performance of three selected crops, Zea mays, Abelmoschus esculentus and Vigna unguiculata grown on a derelict kaolin mined soil. The experiment comprised of treatment pots which has three rates of fertilizer on the kaolin soil each (kaolin soil +NPK (40 kg), kaolin soil + NPK (30 kg) and kaolin soil + NPK (20 Original Research Article

Cassava production is bedeviled by a plethora of biotic constraints among which Bacterial Blight is of most economic important in most cassava growing regions of Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. Deployment of improved resistant varieties by various research institutes have thus far brought the disease under control, but continuous monitoring remains imperative to forestall further outbreak. For this reason, field experiment was performed to specifically screen six improved cassava varieties for CBB incidence and severity under natural environment at the botany research farm,

This study investigated the impacts of spent engine oil on the physicochemical properties of soil, soil's microbial population and growth of Capsicum annuum. It covered assessment of different levels of contamination (0, 20, 40, 60 and 80%) in soil; which represents the degree of oil spillage concentration on the growth performance of C. annuum investigated. Percentage germination, seedling height, number of leaves and number of branches decreased as the concentrations of the spent engine oil in soil samples increased and affected soil physicochemical properties. The screening experiment conducted showed that poultry manure improved the physicochemical properties of sandy loam soils contaminated engine oil. The effects of poultry manure as an organic amendment was assessed using pepper (C. annuum) as test crop. All amendment made significant increase in soil organic carbon and calcium content over the polluted soils. Soil acidity increased, soil exchangeable ions decreased. N, P and K were altered in the polluted soils as compared to the controls. There were increased bacterial counts (2.21 – 2.85) and a decrease in fungi population (0.48 - 0.59) in the spent engine oil-contaminated soils compared with the control. The oil reduced germination percentage, depressed growth, reduction in leaf number and plant height of the C. annuum. Therefore the spent engine oil clearly had detrimental effects on soil's physicochemical and biological properties. The oil contributed largely to the extreme acidic nature of the polluted soils. However, maximum increase in plant height, germination percentage, number of leaves and branches were recorded with amendment of the polluted soils with poultry manure. Results show the considerable potential of remediation protocols with poultry manure as a remediating agent for oil spill remediation in the soil samples.