article · Turkish Journal of Agriculture - Food Science and Technology
Researchers evaluated the levels of heavy metals including copper, lead, zinc, nickel, and cadmium in cassava cultivated near busy roadways in Owerri, Nigeria. Plant leaves and roots were gathered from farms beside three high-traffic routes as well as a rural control site, then analysed using atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Results revealed elevated quantities of copper, zinc, lead, and cadmium in the cassava roots. Within the leaves, metal concentrations decreased in the order of zinc, copper, lead, nickel, and cadmium. Calculation of soil-to-plant transfer factors pointed to medium accumulation across all tested sites. Furthermore, heavy metal concentrations found in the surrounding soil strongly correlated with levels detected in cassava roots, demonstrating that road proximity contributes to pollution in both the soil and the crops.
Cassava is an essential staple crop, but farming it alongside busy motorways exposes it to roadside contamination. The findings show that vehicle-related heavy metal pollution seeps into agricultural soil and transfers into both cassava roots and leaves, highlighting potential food safety and environmental health concerns for communities consuming crops harvested near major transit corridors.
The abstract does not indicate an application pathway, representing early-stage environmental monitoring data rather than a commercial product or service.
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Concentrations of heavy metals (Cu, Pb, Zn, Ni, Cd) in cassava grown on farmlands along highways in Owerri, was investigated. Cassava leaves and root samples were harvested from cassava farms along three major roads with high traffic density and another rural road that served as control location. Standard laboratory procedures to determine the concentration of these metals were adopted using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. The metal concentrations in mg/kg in cassava root showed high levels of Cu (6.29±0.0346), Zn (8.49±2.243), Pb (0.5267±0.3156) and Cd (0.1167±0.0833). The concentrations of the heavy metals in the cassava leaves were of the order: Zn > Cu >Pb> Ni > Cd. Soil plant transfer factor values for all the metals in all the sites indicated medium accumulation. Heavy metal concentrations in soil showed significant correlation with concentrations in cassava root with no significant statistical differences in bioaccumulation of heavy metals in different parts of cassava. The overall results showed evidence of some heavy metal pollution on the soils and cassava plant.
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DOI: 10.24925/turjaf.v8i4.800-806.2737
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