Uptake of Heavy Metals by Tomato (Lycopersicum esculentus) Grown on Soil Collected from Dumpsites in Ekiti State, South West, Nigeria

Abstract

People in recent times have engaged in the habit of cultivating on abadoned dunpsites or soil collected from the existing ones because of their fertility. Lycopersicun esculentus is one of the vegetables that is mostly cultivated on such sites and also commonly consumed in Nigeria. Uptake of heavy metals by tomato (Lycopersicum esculentus) grown on soil collected from dumpsites located in Ekiti State, Nigeria was determined with a view to monitoring the pollutional status of the environment. Concentration of heavy metals were found in the range of ) and Zn (7.54-91.10) all in mg/kg. The sequence of accumulation is in order of leaf>stem>root>fruit and Translocation factor (TF) values greater than 1 revealed that heavy metals were translocated into the aerial part of the plant. However, the study serves as pathway for the investigation of these heavy metals which may eventually enter the food chain and subsequent ingestion by man.

Effect of Glomus mosseae on accumulation efficiency, hazard index and antioxidant defense mechanisms in tomato under metal(loid) Stress

“…Phytoextractors are those plants that have the capability of translocating HM to harvestable parts. Tomato plants grown in dumpsites have shown metal accumulation in order leaf>stem>root>fruit (Adefemi and Awokunmi 2013). Crops from the family Solanaceae have been rendered unsafe for consumption when grown on polluted soil due to their phytoextraction ability.…”

Soil compost amendment enhances tomato (Solanum lycopersicumL.) quality

“…For all the other chemical elements for which significantly higher concentrations in compost amended soils were found (total Zn concentrations at Pontecagnano, available Fe, Mn, Pb and Zn concentrations at Pontecagnano, available Zn concentrations at Battipaglia), 15 no increase of their concentrations in tomatoes was observed ( Table 2), highlighting that most of these elements are not translocated to tomato fruits. 37 Differently from Lido variety, in which the highest concentrations of soluble sugars were found in fruits obtained on soil amended with the highest compost dose, in San Marzano fruits the highest concentrations were observed in plants grown on unfertilised soil (28.28 vs. 23.38-25.99 mg g −1 DW). In both cases, the lowest concentrations were found in fruits from mineral fertilised plants ( Table 2).…”

“…Since in the studied soil Cd total and available concentrations were comparable among treatments (Table ), the lowest Cd concentrations in fruits from C15 and C45 soils may be attributable to the ecophysiology of the plants grown on organic amended soils. For all the other chemical elements for which significantly higher concentrations in compost amended soils were found (total Zn concentrations at Pontecagnano, available Fe, Mn, Pb and Zn concentrations at Pontecagnano, available Zn concentrations at Battipaglia), no increase of their concentrations in tomatoes was observed (Table ), highlighting that most of these elements are not translocated to tomato fruits …”

The Effect of the Challawa Industrial Estate on the Physicochemical Properties and Heavy Metal Levels of Portable Water Supply in Kano Metropolis, Nigeria

“…Water samples were collected in dark colored 4-liter and 1-liter plastic bottles which have been previously treated with 10% HNO 3 and 1:1 HCL for 48 hours washed, rinsed with distilled deionised water and dried in an oven at 50˚C overnight [13].…”