Toxic Effects of Cadmium (Cd) and Lead (Pb) on Growth and Productivity of Arachis Hypogaea (L) and Glycine Max (L)

A study was conducted to determine the effects of different concentrations of cadmium and lead on the growth and productivity of Arachis hypogaea and Glycine max. Seeds were sown on soils irrigated with 0, 10, 20, 30 and 40ppm concentrations of cadmium and lead. Growth and productivity indices were recorded at the 8th week of growth and the elemental contents of the seeds produced were determined using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. The data generated were subjected to One-Way Analysis of Variance and Duncan Multiple Range Test. The results showed that both lead and cadmium treatments had toxic effects on various growth indices and productivity of Arachis hypogaea and Glycine max. Increasing the concentrations of the metals (lead and cadmium) to 40 ppm, significantly (p<0.05) decreased seed germination and number of leaves in both Arachis hypogaea and Glycine max as compared to Control. The filling potentials of the two plants were greatly reduced with increase in concentrations of cadmium and lead regimes. The seeds produced accumulated a lot of cadmium and lead and their concentrations in the seeds increased as the regime concentrations increased. This study has been able to show the risks/hazards of the consumption of groundnuts and cowpeas that are irrigated with effluents or wastewaters. It is recommended that soils polluted with Pb and Cd should not be used to raise these crops.