2023, Vol. 4, Issue 2, Part B
Assessing the influence of palm oil mill effluent on soil microbial communities and associated physicochemical parameters
Author(s): Aleruchi Owhonka, Nengi-Benwari AO and Macpepple Furo Destiny
Abstract: This research investigates how Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME) affects the microbial communities in soil and how it changes the related physicochemical properties. Soil samples were collected from three palm oil mill vicinity at Omerelu, in Ikwerre Local Government of Rivers State, Nigeria. The samples were aseptically collected and transported to microbiology laboratory for microbiological and physicochemical analyses using standard procedures. Results obtained showed that the total heterotrophic bacteria count ranged from 7.6 x 105 CFU/g to 9.2 x 105 CFU/g. Fungi count ranged between 3.0 x 104 CFU/g to 4.3 x 104 CFU/g. The palm oil utilizing bacteria count ranged from 1.7 x 103 CFU/g to 3.6 x 103 CFU/g. Palm oil utilizing fungi ranged from 1.0 x 102 CFU/g to 3.1 x 102 CFU/g. The following bacteria genera were isolated from the soil samples, Bacillus, Flavobacterium, Pseudomonas, Micrococcus, Enterococcus, Proteus, Klebsiella, Staphylococcus, Corynebacterium and Serratia. The highest frequency occurrence was observed in Staphylococcus (18%). Fungal genera isolated were Aspergillus, Candida, Mucor, Rhizopus, Fusarium, Penicillium, Cladosporium and Saccharomyces, with Aspergillus having the highest occurrence of 24.3%. The results of the physicochemical analysis showed that the pH value of the soil samples ranged between 5.92 to 6.67, the electrical conductivity ranged from 40.53 to 400.62 us/cm. For the salinity, nitrate and phosphate, the values ranged from 3.518 mg/g to 7.978 mg/g, 0.04 mg/g to 0.31 mg/g and 1.04 mg/g to 1.49 mg/g, respectively. Calcium and magnesium ranged from 27.47 mg/g to 43.07 mg/g and 32.63 mg/g to 54.12 mg/g, respectively. Total organic matter (Tom) ranged from 7.13% to 26.36%. Potassium and lead recorded least value of 26.74 mg/g to 48.93 mg/g and 0.913 mg/g to 5.267 mg/g, respectively. The oil and grease ranged from 52 to 3500 mg/g. These results demonstrate the diverse microbial presence in the soil affected by POME and illustrate significant variations in the soil's physicochemical attributes across the studied locations.
Pages: 153-157 | Views: 165 | Downloads: 53
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How to cite this article:
Aleruchi Owhonka, Nengi-Benwari AO, Macpepple Furo Destiny. Assessing the influence of palm oil mill effluent on soil microbial communities and associated physicochemical parameters. J Adv Microbiol Res 2023;4(2):153-157.
