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Physiochemical analysis of agricultural soil in Amansea, Anambra State, Nigeria

*Emeribe, Chiemeka Elochi, Onuorah, Samuel Chinedu and Chukwukelo, Chinonyelum Dilys

Department of Applied Microbiology and Brewing, Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka Anambra State, Nigeria.

*Corresponding Author: ce.emeribe@unizik.edu.ng 

Phone number: +2348163620586

ABSTRACT

Chlorpyrifos (O, O-diethyl O-(3, 5, 6-trichloro-2-pyridyl phosphorothioate) is a broad spectrum moderately toxic organophosphorous insecticide which is widely used for pest control on grain, cotton, fruits, and vegetable crops. However, the extensive use of chlorpyrifos has been one of the major causes of pollution of soil and ground water. Therefore, the aim of this research was to evaluate the physiochemical analysis of agricultural soil in Amansea, Anambra State, Nigeria. The results showed that soil maintained a temperature and pH of 320C and 6.55 respectively. The moisture content (%) and organic carbon (%) were 3% and 4% respectively while cadmium and lead content was 0.09ppm and 0.15ppm respectively. The feel method for analysis of soil texture also revealed that the soil texture was silty clay because the soil was excessively wet and has smooth feeling predominantly. In conclusion, the results from this research shows that the temperature of the soil sample was high and confirms the presence of small amount of heavy metals (cadium and lead) and this could inhibit inherent degradation by indeginous bacteria because they are an alarming combination of environmental and health problem.

Keywords: Physiochemical, agricultural, soil, Amansea, Anambra State and Nigeria

INTRODUCTION

The use of Pesticide has greatly improved crop productivity and has also effectively controlled vector borne diseases like Malaria [1]. Although, pesticides have an important role in agriculture to solve the problem of feeding the world’s over growing population, the extensive use has led to the wide spread microbial imbalance, environmental pollution and health hazard [2]. Chlorpyrifos (O, O-diethyl O-(3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridyl phosphorothioate) is a broad spectrum moderately toxic organophosphorous insecticide [3] and acaricide, and is widely used for pest control on grain, cotton, fruits and vegetable crops, as well as lawns and ornamental plants [4] against rice leaf moth, plant hoppers, gall midge, wheat army worm, cotton boll worm, aphid and red spider [5]. Chlorpyrifos (CP) was first commercialized in the USA by Dow Chemical Co. (Midland, MI, USA) in 1965 [6]. The widespread and continuous application of chlorpyrifos has caused several toxicological, environmental contamination and residue problems, which seriously threaten human health, ecological and environment security [7]. The manufacturing and formulation process of chloropyrifos also generate waste that contain the compound [8]. Previous studies have shown that chlorpyrifos not only has acute and chronic toxicity to mammals, aquatic organisms and other non-target organisms, but also has neurotoxicity, genotoxicity and other multiple toxic influences [9,10]. A systematic review of data published between 2006 and 2018, supplemented by mortality data from WHO, found that there were approximately 740,000 annual cases of unintentional, acute pesticide poisoning (UAPP), with 7,446 fatalities and 733,921 non-fatal cases. On this basis, it is estimated that 385 million cases of UAPP occur annually world-wide including 11,000 fatalities (International labor organization, 2021). According to the world health organization (WHO), about 1000,000 human being are affected by acute poisoning by contact with pesticide. Over 150,000 people die each year from pesticide poisoning. Most deaths result from self-poisoning by ingestion, rather than occupational or accidental exposures, which are typically topical or inhalation. Severe pesticide poisoning is more common in rural lower- and middle-income countries where pesticides are widely used in small holder agricultural practice and therefore freely available [11]. Work related contact with pesticides could be behind 70% of these mortalities. Furthermore, constant contact to lower pesticides dosages was associated with a group of syndromes in the medium and long term, involving numerous tumors and nervous system disorders [12]. WHO warns that every year, as many as 2.5 million people worldwide suffer from acute poisoning with pesticides and 0.2 million people die [13]. Chlorpyrifos has also become a potential public health concern as it considered to be genotoxic, damage DNA and affect neurodevelopment in children [14]. 

Pesticides when sprayed to crops get dispersed into different compartments of the environment. Through plant and animal uptake, a large part of these pesticides enter the food chain or get eliminated from the environment by degradation through biological or non-biological pathways. However, a considerable quantity applied is dissipated into the environment, through air drift, leaching and surface run-off. The presence of pesticides in freshwater supplies have become a matter of great concern, with detected levels often surpassing the fixed limit of 0.5lg/L for total pesticides or 0.1lg/L for any individual active ingredient in the EU. Such is the case in Switzerland where about 70% of surface waters contained pesticide levels above the prescribed limit. In addition, their environmental fate is affected by their physicochemical characteristics, along with the environmental conditions [15]. The soil environment gets contaminated with chlorpyrifos when it is sprayed to the crop. The nature of the adsorbents in the soil and water solubility is the factors responsible for the mobility of chlorpyrifos in soil and water [16]. Soil adsorption decreases chlorpyrifos mobility which reduces its availability to the degradative forces thereby increasing its persistence in the soil. Chlorpyrifos adsorbs to particles of soil, organic matter, clay particles and soil sediments to variant measures, and organic soils promote higher adsorption than the sandy loams [17]. The half-life of chlorpyrifos in soil ranges from 60–120 days to 1 year and even extent up to 4 years, depending largely on factors like pesticide application rate, various biotic factors in soil and abiotic factors like the climatic conditions etc. The half-life of chlorpyrifos increases to about 3 folds at higher application rates as pesticide concentration in soil increases. Chlorpyrifos level in soil has been detected in various parts across the globe. Chlorpyrifos has been in use by growers in Canada and the USA for the commercial production of fruits, vegetables, cereals and nuts as foliar, soil granular and drench application. Environmental protection agency (EPA) has banned the use of chlorpyrifos on all crops [18]. In India, chlorpyrifos residues were detected in water samples [19] and breast milk [20].            

DISCUSSION

The soil sample collected were analysed for physiochemical properties of the soil sample. The temperature of the soil sample was high due the fact that it was collected during dry season and is directly related to the pH of the soil. This result is in agreement with the report made by [1], [2] that initial soil pH and temperature have an effect on bioremediation. Our result agrees with the conclusions of [16] that Chlorpyrifos hydrolysis proceded at a slow rate at a very low acidic soil. Our work also agrees with the work of [16] that the relationship between very alkaline (high pH) and rapid abiotic hydrolysis is poor, because high-pH soils failed to hydrolyze chlorpyrifos. He noted that Chlorpyrifos degradation was more rapid in neutral-pH (6.7) and alkaline soils. This means that there is an appreciable increase in biodegradation at a pH range of 4.8 to 6.7. The result also confirms the presence of small amount of heavy metals (cadium and lead) and this could inhibit inherent degradation by indeginous bacteria because they are an alarming combination of environmental and health problem [20]. It agrees with the work of [3] that heavy metals composition of the soil bind with Chlorpyrifos to decrease the bodegradation rate. The possible reason for the inhibition could be that heavy metal has more affinity to pesticide so making it unavailable for degradation by indeginous bacteria.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, the results from this research shows that the temperature of the soil sample was high and confirms the presence of small amount of heavy metals (cadium and lead) and this could inhibit inherent degradation by indeginous bacteria because they are an alarming combination of environmental and health problem.

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CITE AS: Emeribe, Chiemeka Elochi, Onuorah, Samuel Chinedu and Chukwukelo, Chinonyelum Dilys (2023). Physiochemical analysis of agricultural soil in Amansea, Anambra State, Nigeria. NEWPORT INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SCIENTIFIC AND EXPERIMENTAL SCIENCES (NIJSES) 3(3):186-192

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