Annals of Agricultural Sciences 62 (2017) 145–150

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Heavy metals concentrations and risk assessment of roselle and jute mallow T
cultivated with three compost types
⁎
M. Abubakaria, , A. Moominb, G. Nyarkob, M.M. Dawudab,c
a
Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Savanna Agricultural Research Institute (SARI), P.O. Box 52, Tamale, Ghana
b
Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Horticulture, University for Development Studies, P.O. Box TL 1882, Nyankpala, Ghana
c
College of Horticulture, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou, Gansu Province, PR China

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Field experiments were conducted at the research field of the CSIR–SARI near Nyankpala in the Northern region
Bioavailability of Ghana during the major growing seasons of 2014 and 2015. The objectives of the study were to determine the
Amendments effect of three compost types i.e. Accra compost and recycling plant (ACARP) compost; decentralised compost
MRL (DeCo) and composted deep litter chicken manure (CDLCM) on heavy metals concentrations in roselle (Hibiscus
Roselle
sabdariffa L.) and jute mallow (Corchorus olitorius L.) and the health risk of these vegetables to adults and
Jute
children. The composts were each applied at the rate of 10 t/ha in a randomized complete block design in four
replications. The concentrations of Cd and Pb in the leaves of roselle were 0.8 mg/kg and 5.0 mg/kg whiles in
jute mallow, they were 0.7 mg/kg and 6.0 mg/kg, respectively. These concentrations were above the Maximum
residue levels (MRLs) of 0.2 mg/kg for Cd and 0.3 mg/kg for Pb in the standards of the European Commission
and Codex Alimentarius Commission. The low soil pH might have facilitated the bioavailability of the heavy
metals resulting in concentrations that could be harmful to consumers of these vegetables. There is, therefore,
the need to amend the soil pH of the study area. An upward adjustment of the pH of the composts used can also
help in reducing the bioavailability of heavy metals to roselle and jute mallow cultivated in soils with low pH.

Introduction that emissions from vehicles release heavy metals such as lead and
cadmium into the atmosphere which are washed into the soil through
Heavy metals are inherent in soils as part of the weathering pro- rain. Plants absorb these heavy metals into their edible parts which are
cesses in soil formation at trace levels that are rarely toxic (Kabata- in turn consumed by humans.
Pendias, 2011). Their concentrations in soils and other growing media The uptake of heavy metals, their mobilization into plant tissues,
are, however, increased by the application of certain types of inorganic and storage in the aerial plant biomass is referred to as Bio-con-
and organic fertilisers which contain heavy metals that are bioavailable centration factor (BFC) which is considered the most important plant
to plants (Chaney, 2012). Delgado Arroyo et al. (2014) reported that feature in phytoremediation. It is a ratio of heavy metal concentration
poultry manure, apart from the nutrients it contains for plant growth, in plant shoot to extractable concentration of heavy metal in the soil
also contain heavy metals including Pb, Cd, Zn, Cu and Ni. In a related (Oti, 2015). Vegetables especially, the leafy ones are known to be high
study, Ghaly and Alkoaik (2010) found that the organic fraction of accumulators of these heavy metals and because they are consumed
municipal solid waste contained 1.1 mg/kg Zn and as much as more frequently, poses a high risk to humans. For example, Wamalwa
211.0 mg/kg Cu. Similarly, a report by Ayari et al. (2010) indicated that et al. (2015) tested some leafy vegetables in an urban community for
municipal solid waste compost contained 337 mg/kg Cu, 1174.5 mg/kg heavy metals and found that Pb levels were above accepted maximum
Zn, 411.5 mg/kg Pb and 5.17 mg/kg Cd. As far as plants are concerned, residue levels (MRLs).
Pinamonti et al. (1997) observed that application of compost in an The consumption of heavy metal-contaminated vegetables results in
orchard, resulted in increase in Pb and Cd concentration in the leaves the accumulation of these heavy metals in vital organs of the human
and fruits of apple. body leading to chronic health problems such as liver and kidney da-
Vehicular emissions also contribute heavy metals to the environ- mage (Martin and Griswold, 2009; Karman et al., 2013). The risk as-
ment. This is evident in a report by Popescu (2011) which indicated sociated with the consumption of these vegetables is determined using

Peer review under responsibility of Faculty of Agriculture, Ain-Shams University.

⁎
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: [email protected] (M. Abubakari).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aoas.2017.11.001
Received 6 February 2017; Received in revised form 10 November 2017; Accepted 19 November 2017
Available online 09 December 2017
0570-1783/ 2018Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Faculty of Agriculture, Ain Shams University. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/BY-NC-ND/4.0/).
M. Abubakari et al. Annals of Agricultural Sciences 62 (2017) 145–150

the hazard quotient (HQ). The HQ is a ratio of the average daily dose of experimental plot had a plant population of twenty five. Harvesting was
the heavy metal to a reference dose (Hough et al., 2004). If HQ is done on the nine inner plants when the leaf cover was considered
greater than one (1), there is a potential risk to the consumer but if it is economical at each point in time of the plant’s growth for further
less than one, there is no potential risk to the consumer. The sum of the processing and analysis.
HQs of individual heavy metals through a single exposure pathway
constitute the hazard index (HI) (Hu et al., 2013; Sharma et al., 2016). Experimental design and field layout
The objectives of this study were to determine the effect of some
selected composts on the bioavailability of Cd, Pb, Zn and Cu in the The treatments were ACARP, DeCo, CDLCM and control (which was
harvested leaves of roselle and jute mallow and also to assess the health without any amendment). The experiment was laid out in a randomized
risk associated with their consumption within the area. complete block design with four replications.

Materials and methods Determination of chemical properties and heavy metals (Cu, Zn, Cd, and Pb)
concentrations in soil and composts
The study area
Sample preparation and analysis were conducted in reference to the
The study was conducted at the upland field of the Council for handbook of methods on tropical soil biology and fertility by Anderson
Scientific and Industrial Research – Savanna Agricultural Research and Ingram (1993). Ten soil samples were randomly taken from the
Institute (CSIR-SARI), Nyakpala, located in the Tolon District of the experimental plot at 15 cm depth at 9:00 am GMT using a soil auger.
Northern Region of Ghana. The upland field is about 200 m from They were dried in an oven at 104 °C for 24 h. They were then pul-
Changnaayili village (Latitude 09 25/N, Longitude 00 58/W, and alti- verised into finer particles, sieved, mixed thoroughly and composited.
tude of 183 m above sea level). The soils of the upland field are Ferric Three laboratory samples were then taken from the composite sample
luvisols (FAO-UNESCO, 2002), reported to have derived from concre- for analysis. The soil and the composts were analysed for their com-
tionary ground water laterite soil described as Kpalsawgu series (im- positions of percent nitrogen by the Kjeldahl method; percent organic
perfectly drained, occurring within the east on the low lying uplands) carbon by Wakley and Black method; elemental phosphorous using the
and Changnayili series (poorly drained, occupying the lower slopes and UV–Vis (model 7305, Bibby Scientific, Staffordshire, UK); potassium
valley bottoms) which are both sandy loam soils that are slightly acidic using the flame photometer (model PFP7, Bibby Scientific, Stafford-
with pH of 5.8 (Obeng, 2000). The experiment was conducted on the shire, UK) and pH using the research pH meter (model 3330, Jenway
Kpalsawgu soil series. The experimental site has been cultivated to a Ltd., Essex, UK) by following standard procedures. The extraction of the
variety of crops including cereals, legumes and vegetables under dif- heavy metals in the soil as well as the composts was done using Ethy-
ferent experimental treatments. lenediamine tetracetic acid (EDTA) with ammonium acetate as a uni-
The study area has two distinct seasons (rainy/wet season and dry versal extractant. The heavy metals were then determined using the
season). The rainy season is mono-modal which begins around May and Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS) at the Analytical La-
ends around October. The amount of rainfall recorded annually varies boratory of the Soil Research Institute at Kwadaso in Kumasi.
between 750 mm and 1050 mm with a cropping period of 180–200 days
(MoFA, 2013). The dry season starts around November and ends around Determination of chemical properties and heavy metals (Cu, Zn, Cd, and Pb)
March/April with maximum temperatures (°C) occurring around concentrations in roselle and jute mallow leaves
March-April and minimum temperatures (°C) around December/Jan-
uary. The harmattan (north-east trade winds) occurs around December For the leaves, 0.5 g of the dried samples were then weighed into
to early February and has a considerably low temperature effect in the crucibles and placed in a muffle furnace at a temperature of 450 °C for
region; normally 14 °C at night and 40 °C during the day. Relative hu- 3 h. The samples were allowed to cool and 10 ml of 1:2 dilute Nitric
midity, however, which is very low during harmattan, mitigates the acid solution was added to each sample. They were placed on a hot
effect of the daytime temperature. The vegetation mostly consists of plate until the first sign of boiling was observed. The samples were then
vast areas of grassland, interspersed with guinea savannah woodland, filtered into a 20 ml flask and made to the mark with distilled water.
characterised by drought-resistant trees such as acacia, baobab, shea One ml of the solution was then injected into the AAS flow injection
nut, dawadawa, mango, and neem. tube for determination of the heavy metals (Motsara and Roy, 2008).
The concentrations of the heavy metals were determined using the AAS
Source of seeds and composts (model 210 VGP, Buck Scientific, East Norwalk, USA). The concentra-
tion of the heavy metals was then calculated as follows: Heavy metal
Seeds of local cultivars of roselle and jute mallow were obtained concentration (mg/kg) = C × df. Where C – concentration of heavy
from farmers at Builpela and Gbulahgu irrigation sites in the Tamale metal from AAS reading and df – dilution factor.
metropolitan area and Tolon district, respectively. Samples of ACARP The bio-concentration factor (BCF) for the various metals was de-
compost was obtained from a sales agent in Tamale while the DeCo termined by dividing the concentration of each metal in the dry leaves
compost and the CDLCM were obtained from the DeCo Company near of roselle and jute mallow by the concentration of the metal in the soil.
Tamale. The health risks of the heavy metals were also determined by calcu-
lating their hazard quotients (HQ) according Sharma et al. (2016) as
Land preparation and application of compost follows:
HQ = ADD/RfD = C× EF × ED/BW × AT × RfD
The experimental field was mechanically ploughed and harrowed to
a fine tilth. A total area of 20 m × 15 m was then lined and pegged to where
carve out the experimental plots. The organic soil amendments were
incorporated into the top 10–15 cm of the soil using a hand hoe. The HQ = Hazard quotient (unitless)
composts were spread by hand gently on each plot at a rate of 10 t/ha ADD = Average daily dose (mg/kg-day).
and worked into the top soil using the hoe. This was done two weeks RfD = Reference dose (mg/kg-day).
before transplanting was done. The seeds of roselle and jute mallow C = (mg/kg fresh weight basis) is the measured concentration of
were nursed in nursery boxes. The seedlings at 31 days in the nursey heavy metals on individual heavy metal basis in the edible part of
were transplanted onto the field at 40 × 40 cm spacing. Each the vegetable.

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M. Abubakari et al. Annals of Agricultural Sciences 62 (2017) 145–150

IR = (kg/day per person) is the amount of daily vegetable con- Table 2

sumption. Effect of different organic soil amendments on heavy metal concentration in harvested
leaf samples of roselle (n = 4).
NB: The average IR in Ghana is 0.137 kg/day per person (Ruel et al.,
2005). Soil amendment Zn (mg/kg) Cu (mg/kg) Cd (mg/kg) Pb (mg/kg)
EF = (350 days/year) is the exposure frequency to a particular
heavy metal. ACARP 18.8 12.5 0.6 4.1
DeCo 31.5 11.5 1.1 5.9
ED = the exposure duration (6years for child, 30 years for adult).
CDLCM 18.6 11.4 0.9 4.9
BW = the body weight (24.5 kg for child, 60.3 kg for adult). Control 22.3 12.5 0.6 3.6
AAT = the average life time for non-carcinogens (ED-365 days/ LSD (5%) 12.1 5.4 1.2 3.4
year).
The values are means of four replicates expressed on dry weight basis.
The risk analysis (HQ) was done separately for an adult (body
weight of 60 kg) with an exposure duration of 30 years and a child Table 3
(body weight of 24.7 kg) with an exposure duration of 6 years. Effect of different organic soil amendments on heavy metal concentration in harvested
leaf samples of jute mallow (n = 4).

Statistical analysis Organic soil amendment Zn (mg/kg) Cu (mg/kg) Cd (mg/kg) Pb (mg/kg)

ACARP 26.5 17.6 0.6 6.7

Data collected were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) DeCo 22.8 16.3 1.0 5.2
using GenStat release 9.2 statistical package. Fisher’s least significant CDLCM 16.6 15.3 0.4 5.4
difference (LSD) test was used to separate the treatment means at 5% Control 16.7 15.9 0.9 5.9
LSD (5%) 9.1 2.8 NS NS
level of significance.
The values are means of four replicates expressed on dry weight basis.
Results and discussion
Table 4
Concentration of heavy metals (Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb) and other chemical Effect of different organic soil amendments on Bio-Concentration Factors (BCF) in roselle
and jute mallow leaves (n = 3).
constituents in the soil, CDLCM, ACARP and DeCo composts
Heavy metal type BCF – roselle BCF - jute mallow
The experimental soil was analysed for the concentrations of Cd, Pb,
Zn, Cu, N, P, K and C, and the pH level determined before the Cd 1.60 1.45
Zn 1.30 1.17
amendments were applied. The results are presented in Table 1. The pH
Pb 0.84 1.05
of the soil indicated an acidic condition (4.4) with organic carbon at Cu 1.84 2.50
2.0% and nitrogen content at 0.2%. The potassium content in the soil
was 261.3 mg/kg while phosphorous was 38.7 mg/kg. Zinc concentra- Values are means of three replicates expressed on dry matter basis.
tion was 17.6 mg/kg and Copper was 6.5 mg/kg. The concentrations of
the two non-essential heavy metals (Pb and Cd) were 5.5 mg/kg and (Nachtigall et al., 2007) and 1197.6 mg/kg (Suciu et al., 2008). Alloway
0.5 mg/kg, respectively. All the composts were also acidic with the (2008) reported a mean concentration of 55 mg/kg for Zn in soils from
lowest average pH of 3.9 in CDLCM and highest of 4.8 in DeCo. The different geographical locations. A report jointly submitted by IFPRI,
nitrogen contents in the composts were 0.3% in both ACARP and DeCo IFDC, ILFSP, MSU and IITA (2015) to the Ministry of Food and Agri-
but 0.6% in CDLCM while the least carbon content was 1.6% in ACARP culture in Ghana, showed the following fertility status of the Guinea
and highest in CDLCM (7.5%) On average, ACARP contained the Savanna soils – pH, 6.2–6.6; organic carbon, 0.51–0.99%; total N,
highest of all the metals followed by DeCo and then the CDLCM 0.02–0.12%, available P and K 0.06–1.80 and 36.96–44.51 mg/kg re-
(Table 1). spectively. In this study, however, the P and K were relatively high
In this study, the concentration of the two essential heavy metals - whiles the pH was comparatively low.
Cu and Zn in the soil were considered normal for plant growth. The concentrations of Cd (0.5 mg/kg) and Pb (5.5 mg/kg) in the
According Schulte and Kelling (1999), the soil Cu concentration ranges experimental soil were similar to concentrations reported by WHO
from 2 mg/kg to 100 mg/kg. The crop however removes less than (2007) and by Biernacka and Maluszynski (2006) as typical values for
0.05 mg/kg per year. The concentrations found in this study were si- most soils. Chaney (2012) and Tchounwou et al. (2014) reported that
milar to those reported by Antonio and John (2013) and by Pariera and the normal cadmium concentration in agricultural soils ranges from 0.1
Clain (2013). Other authors, however, reported much higher soil Cu to 2 mg/kg. The Pb concentration in experimental soil was however,
concentrations of 50 mg/kg (ATSDR, 2004); 1,300–1400 mg/kg below the 10–50 mg/kg threshold reported by ATSDR (2012) and
1521.8 mg/kg by Suciu et al. (2008). Therefore, the concentrations of
Table 1 the two non-essential heavy metals in the experimental soil were within
Concentrations of heavy metals (Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb) and other chemical constituents in acceptable levels for crop cultivation.
CDLCM, ACARP compost, DeCo compost and the soil (n = 3). The presence of Pb, Cd, Cu and Zn in CDLCM used in this experi-
Chemical constituents CDLCM ACARP compost DeCo compost Soil
ment corroborated with studies by Delgado Arroyo et al. (2014) and
Chastain et al. (1999) where Pb, Cd, Cu and Zn were found in poultry
pH 3.9 4.3 4.8 4.4 manure. Similarly, Irshad et al. (2013) also reported 28 mg/kg Pb and
C (%) 7.5 1.6 3.6 2.0 48 mg/kg Cd in chicken manure. The two municipal solid waste com-
N (%) 0.6 0.3 0.3 0.2
P (mg/kg) 72.3 59.6 79.1 38.7
posts, ACARP and DeCo also contained Cd, Pb, Cu and Zn which can be
K (mg/kg) 446.9 368.6 494.4 261.3 related to a similar study by Ayari et al. (2010), where they found that
Zn(mg/kg) 3.2 19.5 1.8 17.6 municipal solid waste compost contained 337 mg/kg of Cu, 1174.5 mg/
Cd (mg/kg) 0.1 3.4 0.5 0.5 kg of Zn, 411.5 mg/kg of Pb and 5.17 mg/kg of Cd. From the con-
Pb (mg/kg) 0.7 4.2 1.6 5.5
centrations of the heavy metals, ACARP could be graded as B (suitable
Cu (mg/kg) 1.1 6.8 2.8 6.5
for land reclamation) while DeCo and CDLCM be graded as A+ (sui-
The values represent means of three replicates on dry matter basis. table for agriculture including organic farming) according to the

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M. Abubakari et al. Annals of Agricultural Sciences 62 (2017) 145–150

Fig. 1. (a and b) Health risk assessment of heavy metals in roselle and jute mallow leaves respectively (n = 4) for adults.

Fig. 2. (a and b) Health risk assessment of heavy metals in roselle and jute mallow leaves respectively (n = 4) for children.

European Commission (2004) standards on the heavy metal con- within genotypes and even within the same plant species. According to
centration in compost for agricultural use. Jung (2008) and Nouri et al. (2009), several factors including move-
ment of water within the field, interaction among the elements and
variations in uptake in the plant contribute to varying concentrations of
Heavy metal concentration in harvested leaves of roselle and jute mallow heavy metals in plants.

The leaf samples of roselle (Table 2) and jute mallow (Table 3)

contained all the heavy metals analysed for viz Zn, Cu, Cd and Pb as Bio-Concentration Factors (BCF) of roselle and jute mallow leaves
residues. The roselle produced from the DeCo compost-amended plots
had the highest concentration of Zn (31.5 mg/kg) in the leaves. This In this experiment, BCF was calculated by dividing the concentra-
was significantly different (P ≤ 0.05) from ACARP and CDLCM but not tion of each heavy metal in roselle and jute mallow by the concentra-
significantly different from the control plots. For Cu, Cd and Pb, there tion of the heavy metal in the soil. The values obtained were in the
was no significant differences in their concentration for all the decreasing order of Cu > Cd > Zn > Pb for both roselle and jute
amendments. In the leaves of jute mallow, the concentration of Zn from mallow (Table 4). This indicated that Cu was the most accumulated
the ACARP – amended plots was 26.5 mg/kg and this was significantly heavy metal while Pb was the least accumulated in the leave of roselle
different from the CDLCM (16.6 mg/kg) and the control (16.7 mg/kg) and jute mallow. Roselle had the highest concentrations of Cd and Zn
plots. However, the concentrations of Cu, Pb and Cd in the leaves were but less of Pb and Cu compared with jute mallow. Considering the two
not significantly different for all the amended plots. carcinogenic elements (Cd and Pb), the Cd uptake and translocation
The results of the plant analysis showed that the concentrations of being higher than Pb is similar to findings by Ndeda and Manohar
the two carcinogenic heavy metals – Cd and Pb in this study were both (2014) and Hladun et al. (2015).
above the maximum residue levels (MRLs). Though the concentration
of Cd in both roselle and jute mallow were not significantly different Health risk assessment of heavy metals in roselle and jute mallow leaves for
among the various amendments, they were above the 0.2 mg/kg max- adults and children
imum residue level (MRL) for leafy vegetables as set by Codex
Alimentarius Commission (FAO/WHO, 2011) and European The hazard quotient (HQ) for Zn and Cu in both roselle and jute
Commission (EC, 2006). mallow were below 1.0 for all the amendments including the control.
The concentrations of Pb in roselle and jute mallow leaves in all the This implied that the concentrations of these two heavy metals in the
treatments were above the MRLs of 0.3 mg/kg for vegetables, as in the leaves of the vegetables did not pose any health risk to both adults
Codex Alimentarius Commission and EC standards. (Fig. 1a and b) and children (Fig. 2a and b). However, the HQ for Pb
The higher concentrations of Cd and Pb in these vegetables, with or and Cd on average posed a health threat to both children and adult
without the application of compost, could be attributed to the low soil populations. The risk was more pronounced in roselle than in jute
pH which enhanced the uptake of these metals from the soil. Based on mallow for the adult population but not as in children.
this, Traunfeld and Clement (2001) indicated that adjusting the pH of This study showed that, children were at a higher risk compared to
garden soils to 6.5–7.0 reduces the bioavailability of Pb in the soil for their adult counterparts. Though both vegetables posed health risk as
plants uptake. In a similar study, Wamalwa et al. (2015) also found Pb shown by their HQs, roselle had a higher HQ compared to jute mallow
levels in some leafy vegetables to be above the Codex MRLs. According for both adults and children. Roselle therefore, poses more health risk
to Tangahu et al. (2011), Pb is immobile in the soil but its uptake varies than jute mallow for the two category of consumers over time. In a

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M. Abubakari et al. Annals of Agricultural Sciences 62 (2017) 145–150

report by SCOOP (2004), it was indicated that though food intake of foodstuffs. Off. J. Eur. Union. L 364.Regulation No. 1881. 19th December. pp. 5–24.
children is lower than that of adults, their lower body weight predis- FAO-UNESCO. 2002 Major soils of the world. Land and water digital media series.
Compact disc 19.
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For both adults and children, roselle had a higher HQ than jute and production of vegetable crops. Am. J. Agric. Biol. Sci. 5 (3), 274–281.
mallow, a similar trend observed with Cd. In a related study, Jena et al. Hladun, K.R., Parker, D.R., Trumble, J.T., 2015. Cadmium, copper, and lead accumula-
tion and bioconcentration in the vegetative and reproductive organs of Raphanus
(2012) estimated HQ for Pb to be 7.22 in leafy vegetables. Zhou et al. sativus: implications for plant performance and pollination. J. Chem. Ecol. 1–10.
(2016) also found the target HQ for Pb to be 1.15, 1.51 and Cd to be Hu, W., Huang, B., Shi, X., Chen, W., Zhao, Y., Jiao, W., 2013. Accumulation and health
2.49, 3.27 in vegetables for adults and children respectively. Con- risk of heavy metals in a pilot-scale vegetable production system in a peri-urban
vegetable farm near Nanjing. China. Ecotoxicol. Environ. Saf. 98, 303–309.
sidering its relative uptake for different age groups, the WHO (2010) Hough, R.L., Breward, N., Young, S.D., Crout, M.N., Tye, A.M., Moir, A.M., Thornton, I.,
indicated that gastrointestinal absorption of lead is enhanced in chil- 2004. Assessing potential risk of heavy metal exposure from consumption of home-
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IFPRI, IFDC, ILFSP, MSU, IITA. 2015. Towards a sustainable soil fertility strategy in
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DeCo and the CDLCM contained acceptable levels of cadmium, lead, 1–534.
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Tauqeer, H.M., 2013. Greener J. Environ. Manage. Public Saf. 2 (4), 172–179.
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enhance the uptake of heavy metals by vegetables such as roselle and Science and Technology Briefs for Citizens. Issue 15. Center for Hazardous Substance
jute mallow leading to concentrations above international standards. In Research. Kansas State University, 104 Ward Hall, Manhattan KS 66506, 785-532-
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jute mallow produced for consumption, there is the need for farmers to Analysis. FAO fertilizer and plant nutrition bulletin 19. Viale delle Terme di
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centration of vineyard soils as a function of pH variation and addition of poultry
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West Africa Agriculture Productivity Programme (WAAPP 2A, Credit heavy metals within different habitats of hydrophytes in Nairobi dam, Kenya. J.
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Accumulation of heavy metals in soil and uptake by plant species with phytor-
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Tamale Polytechnic, who assisted during the field layout and in data Obeng, H. 2000. Soil classification in Ghana. Selected Economic Issues, No. 3. Centre for
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