Impact of Tannery Effluent on Bioaccumulation of Heavy Metals Concentration in Maize Grains (Zea mays L.)
Abstract
Tannery effluents adversely affect the growth and development of crops when they are used for irrigation. Therefore, this study was carried out to assess the bio-accumulation of heavy metal on maize grains of selected varieties (BHQPY545 and Malkesa-2) using different effluent treatments. The treatments were made by mixing measured quantities of tannery effluent in distilled water, i.e. 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100%. The experiment was carried out in a completely randomized design with five effluent treatments, each replicated three times. The effluent is a dark bluish green in color with a high biological oxygen demand (182mg/kg) along with much higher concentrations of total suspended solids (13,100 mg/kg) and total dissolved solids (3000 mg/kg), but the concentrations of some metals were found the under the normal range recommended by Food and Agriculture Organization and United Nations Environmental Protection Agency. Tannery effluent was tested for its effect on maize greenhouse conditions. The result of the study indicates that chromium had the highest concentrations in the tannery effluent, while Zn had the least concentrations. The metal concentrations in effluent samples were in the order of Cr > Pb > Fe > Cd > Cu > Zn. The accumulation of heavy metal results showed that Fe was detected in the highest concentration, followed by Cr for all treatments in both varieties of maize. The sequence of metal accumulation in decreasing order was: Fe > Cr >Zn > Cu > Cd >Pb in the maize seeds. In both selected varieties, in the lower treatments (T1 and T2), the concentration of all heavy metals was very low compared to T4 although it exceeded the permissible limits, except for Cu and Zn. Finally, it is understood that effluent treated plant may lead to adverse health outcomes upon human consumption.
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