Environmental pollution from oil activities in a major oil producing country like Nigeria is inevitable. Studies on the effects of crude oil contamination on forest tree species is vital because of the great deal of crude oil spillage in the coastal regions of Nigeria. This paper evaluates the performance of Dacryodes edulis seeds and seedlings in a crude oil contaminated soil in Asaba, Delta State, Nigeria. Four crude oil concentrations (% by weight) in soil constituted treatments. These were 0.00%, 2.07%, 4.15% and 6.23% by weight per 1.3 kg weight of the soil samples. A randomized complete block design (RCBD) was adopted with three replicates. The results showed that oil concentrations of 4.15% and 6.23% adversely affected percent (%) germination (62.33% and 37.67%) and performance of D. edulis seedlings in terms of plant height, number of leaves, leaf area, collar girth and dry mass at the 5% probability level. The study shows that crude oil pollution has a highly significant effect on the germination and seedling growth of this locally available multi-purpose forest fruit tree species. This further suggests that D. edulis can serve as bio-indicator of pollution in oil-producing areas of the Niger Delta. The present study has important implications for restoration of degraded areas.

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