Seasonal impact of quarry mining effluent discharge impacted soils on growth parameters and phytochemical constituents of edible vegetables

Abstract

This study was designed to assess the impact quarry mining effluent discharge impacted soil on growth parameters and phytochemical constituents of edible vegetables. Three quarry mining sites were used for the study that covered wet and dry seasons. Plant growth such as plant height, leaf area, internodes and plant collar diameter were measured while plant phytochemical composition was analysed using Gas chromatography flame ionization detector (GC-FID).  Results indicated decrease in plant growth and plant chlorophyll content in dry season compared to wet season (P<0.05). This values were however significantly lower than the control. Phytochemical constituents of vegetables as observed from this study increased in dry season in response to trace metal stress. The results imply that mining activities impacted negatively on the growth of these edible vegetables. This is indicative of potential health risk that may be associated with prolonged consumption of edible vegetables grown in these soils. Hence farmers should be discouraged from planting edible plants around these quarry sites as this may have detrimental effect on health of consumers.

Key Words: Quarry mining, Phytochemicals, Edible vegetables, Plant growth, Effluent discharge