Authors : Z.O. Opafunso , I.I. Ozigi and G.O. Oniyide
Abstract: A critical assessment of the suitability of tomato, groundnut and melon as economic crops for successful reclamation at Itakpe iron ore mine, Kogi State, Nigeria had been carried out. This was with the aim of determining their suitability for post-mining agricultural land-use. Over a six months period (April-September, 2006) tomato, groundnut and melon seeds were planted on three farms, two of which were within the mines environment. The 2 farms that were 100 and 200 m from the mine were amended with poultry dropping at the rate of 200 g 3kg-1 of soils. The third farm which was about 300 m from the mine, where mining effect was negligible, was used as control without any poultry dropping addition. Leaves of the three crops were collected, predigested and analyzed for their chemical properties. The results shows that in the three farms, the extractable micronutrients, such as Calcium, Magnesium and Potassium were within the range of 210- 1,000 ppm, 210- 6,000 ppm and 1,710- 25, 000 ppm, respectively.The results also revealed that plant samples from the farms within the mines environment contained higher level of heavy metals compared to that of the third farm, although not in harmful quantity. Also, none of the plant could survive on the mined-out soil without application of poultry droppings.
Z.O. Opafunso , I.I. Ozigi and G.O. Oniyide , 2008. Chemical Analyses of Leave Samples of Tomato, Groundnut and Melon as Economic Crops for Successful Reclamation at Itakpe Iron Ore Mine, Kogi State, Nigeria. Online Journal of Earth Sciences, 2: 9-15.