title: Maize (Zea mays L.) performance in organically amended mine site soils.
abstract: Organic amendments play an important role in the eco-friendly remediation of degraded mine site soils. This study investigated the quality (essential nutrients and heavy metal content) of maize grown on organically amended soils from three active mines in Nigeria. Soil samples were collected randomly at 0-15 cm depth, air-dried and sieved. Five kg of soil were amended with poultry manure and sawdust (poultry manure only, sawdust only, poultry manure-sawdust mixtures in 3:1, 2:1 and 1:1 ratios) at 10 g kg(-1). Maize (Zea mays L.) seeds were planted and watered for two consecutive periods of 8 weeks, with the control and treatment experiments set up in the screenhouse in quadruples. Harvested tissues were weighed, dried, ground and digested. Chemical properties were determined using standard methods while atomic absorption spectrophotometry was used to determine total metal concentrations (Ca, Mg, Fe, Zn, Pb, Cd and Cu). ANOVA was used to test for significant differences among treatment groups in the various parameters. Application of poultry manure-sawdust mixtures significantly (p < 0.05) enhanced tissue dry matter yield, as well as N, P, K, and Na contents while Zn, Cd, Cu and Pb were immobilized to approximately 50-100%. Treatment with sawdust alone reduced tissue nutrient content resulting in depressed plant yield while poultry manure only though enhanced crop yield, contained higher heavy metal contents. Soil amendments comprised of poultry manure-sawdust mixtures can be effective remediation strategy for mine site soils, as these organic materials help replenish soil nutrients, immobilize heavy metals, and enhance food productivity.
authors.affiliation: Unit for Environmental Sciences and Management, North West University, Potchefstroom, Private Bag X6001, Potchefstroom 2520, South Africa; Institute of Ecology and Environmental Science, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile - Ife, Nigeria. Electronic address: tosin1oladipo@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Oluwatosin Gbemisola
authors.initials: OG
authors.lastname: Oladipo
authors.affiliation: Department of Soil and Land Resources, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile - Ife, Nigeria.
authors.forename: Akinyemi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Olayinka
authors.affiliation: Institute of Ecology and Environmental Science, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile - Ife, Nigeria.
authors.forename: Olusegun Olufemi
authors.initials: OO
authors.lastname: Awotoye
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004787:Environmental Pollution; D052918:Environmental Restoration and Remediation / Q000379:methods*; D008372:Manure; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000032:analysis*; D008906:Mining; D009549:Nigeria; D011200:Poultry; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry*; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000032:analysis; D013054:Spectrophotometry, Atomic; D014866:Waste Products; D014934:Wood; D003313:Zea mays / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D008372:Manure; D019216:Metals, Heavy; D012987:Soil; D012989:Soil Pollutants; D014866:Waste Products
keywords: Anthropogenic activities; Degraded soils; Heavy metals; Maize performance; Mine site; Organic amendments