Effects of Treated Effluent of Oil and Gas Industry on The Anatomical Structures of Some Vegetable Crops

Abstract

The present investigation has been carried out on the anatomical features of Trigonella foenum-graecum L., Lycopersicon esculentum Mill., Solanum melongena L. and Ruphanus sativa.L. subjected to irrigation of Control, dilute effluent (DE) and concentrated effluent (CE) of the treated (oil and gas) industrial effluent in order to identify the anatomical response of the plant to the treatment. Tap water was used as a control. The stems and the roots were manually cross-sectioned stained with safranin and then mounted in a drop of glycerin jelly on glass slides. A cover slip was placed over them and observations were made. Analysis resulted that dilute concentration of the effluent did not show abnormality while the higher concentration (CE) of the effluent showed abnormalities in the root such as abnormal vascular development, cellular degradation and anomalous cambial activity, ruptured epidermis, while damaged cortical, hypodermal and epidermal cells were observed in the stem and root of the plant. However damaged was more pronounced in root than the stem. This shows that higher concentration of the oil and gas industrial treated effluent induced anatomical abnormalities in selected plants, while the diluted effluent was safe for the plant growth.