Evaluation of growth and nutrients of Telfairia occidentalis Hook, f. Grown on dumpsite soil in Umudike area

Abstract

Anthropogenic activities have led to build up of dumpsites. Organic matters are found in
compost and waste site soils which are seldom used, and there is a high demand for leafy
vegetables such as fluted pumpkin. The study was designed to investigate the impact of
dumpsite soil on Telfairia occidentalis's proximate composition, vitamin levels, heavy metal and vegetative growth. The study was conducted at Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike. Soils were obtained from the dumpsite of the campus cafeteria and the forest reserve. The study adopted a 5 x 5 Completely Randomized Design. Each of the 25 plastic pots had a varied percentage of regular soil mixed with dumpsite soil. Two seeds were planted in each of the buckets. Physicochemical analysis showed that dumpsite soil had relatively elevated chemical contents compared to normal top soil. The measured plant growth features in the dumpsite soils showed a significant increase when compared to the control. The treatment with combined equal percentage of normal top soil with an equal amount of dumpsite soil (T3)  produced the highest growth. T. occidentalis grown on 100% dumpsite soil had higher dry matter and carbohydrate contents compared to lower ash, moisture, fibre, and protein levels in the control. However, there was no significant difference in the Dry matter, Ash, Fat and Protein contents of dumpsite and normal soil grown T. occidentalis's leaves. From the result, vitamin content of T. occidentalis grown in the dumpsite soil was not significantly affected. The dumpsite soil significantly increased the plants Cu, Pb, Cd and Zn  content when compared to the control plants, but they were all below the tolerable standard. Dumpsite soil is rich in nutrient content, and cultivating on it increases plant vegetative growth while solving the problem of agro-land
scarcity.