Soil pollution with petroleum products is commonin areas where petroleum and natural gas are produced (Adam et al., 2002;Clark, 2003).
The production of as well as the use of petroleum products lead to pollution of soil (Ayotamuno et al.,2006).Moreover, accidental spills caused by pipeline leakages and ruptures havebeen reported (Ogbo, 2009).
Soil pollutionalters soil physical and chemical characteristics, which reduced its fertility andinfluence plant production (Gong et al., 1996; Torstenssen et al., 1998;Wyszkowska and Kucharski, 2000; Wyszkowski et al., 2004; Wyszkowski andWyszkowska, 2005). Diesel is a mixture of hydrocarbons that is consists of alkanes,cycloalkanes and aromatic compounds (Frankenberger and Jahanson, 1982; Speight,1992, 2007). It also contains sulfur, nitrogen and oxygen in low concentrationsas well as metals (Posthuma, 1970).
Petroleum pollution of soilaffects soil biochemical properties (Achuba and Okoh, 2014, Chikezie et al.,2016), which in turn affect the growth and metabolic activities of exposedplants (Achuba2006; Achuba and Okoh 2015; Achuba and Asagba, 2016. Previousstudies reported reduced germination of seeds in soil contaminated by petroleumproducts (Amakiri and Onofeghara, 1984; Adam and Duncan, 1999, 2002; Vavrek andCampbell, 2002; Achuba, 2006; Smith et al., 2006, Sharifi et al.
, 2007; Koradeand Fulekar, 2009; Ogbo, 2009). Contamination of the soil with diesel oillimits the available essential soil mineral needed by plant (Roy et al, 2013)and overall plant growth (Nwaogu et al, 2006; Das and Chandran, 2011). Previousresearches have been carried out on different organic wastes. Some of thesestudies include the investigation on the effect of nutrient amendments ofdiesel oil polluted soil on growth parameters of eggplant (Solanum melongena)that involved treatment of polluted with different amounts of organic andinorganic fertilizers (Akujobi et al, 2011) and also the effects of abattoireffluent treatment of diesel contaminated soil on plant metabolic status inaddition to microbial degradation of diesel in soil were evaluated (Umanu and Owoseni,2013; Achuba and Erihijivwo,2017 ).
The application of pond wastewater as afertilizer and soil conditioner has not been widely reported. Main purpose The application of pond waste water could be avery attractive proposal. This study was conducted to investigate the effect ofpond waste water on the growth and metabolism of cowpea seedlings grown indiesel contaminated soil. Significant of StudyThis researchattempts to exploit pond waste water as an organic fertilizer actively involvedin the remediation of diesel polluted soil. Local farmers with minimal or noaccess to inorganic fertilizer in the Niger Delta area of Nigeria could benefitfrom this research due to the fact that pond waste water is readily availableand is a cheap source of organic fertilizer.
Also, the issue of proper ways ofdisposing this pond waste water could be cocktailed with this research. Scope of StudyThisstudy investigated the effect of pond waste water on both biomolecules and metabolismparameters of cowpea seedlings grown in diesel contaminated soil. Thebiomolecules include protein, glucose, amino acid, total sugar, totalchlorophyll, and beta carotene while thebiochemical parameters determined include lipid peroxidation, superoxide dismutaseactivity, catalase activity, xanthine oxidase activity, aldehyde oxidaseactivity, ? amylase activity, and phosphorylase activity.1.
4 Aims andObjectivesTheaim of the study was conducted to investigate the effect of artificial pondwaste water on the growth and metabolism of cowpea grown in a dieselcontaminated soil.Thespecific objectives of this study are to highlight:i The effect of artificialpond waste water on diesel induced alterations of the metabolism ofmacromolecules in cowpea seedlings.ii The effect ofartificial pond waste water on diesel mediated oxidative stress in cowpeaseedlings. iii The effectof artificial pond waste water on drug metabolizing enzymes in cowpea seedlings
