International Journal of Plant & Soil Science

Aims: This study was conducted to investigate the effect of liquid effluents discharged from a non-alcoholic beverage company on the growth of maize genotypes.

Study Design: The screenhouse experiment was laid out in complete randomised design.

Place and Duration of Study: The experiment was conducted at the nursery farm of the Department of Botany, University of Ibadan, Nigeria, between January and February and repeated between March and April, 2018.

Materials and Methods: Maize genotypes; TZM – 1439, TZM – 29, TZM – 1288 and TZM - 1165 were obtained from maize germplasm in IITA Ibadan while the liquid effluent was collected from a bottling company in Ibadan and diluted with sterile distilled water into four different concentrations (0, 80, 90 and 100%). The varying concentration levels were evaluated on each maize genotype. Effluent was applied in the soil of the respective treatment at 200ml /pot/ day starting from the 10^th day after planting. Data gathered on plants’ growth characters were subjected to ANOVA α_0.05.

Results: Maize cultivars treated with effluents concentrations, especially at 100% level significantly (p < 0.05) resulted in increased plant height (31.17 and 28.67 cm), stem length (7.81 and 7.53 cm), leaf length (22.18 and 20.63 cm) and leaf number (3.72, 3.61%) compare to the control respectively. Among the maize genotypes evaluated, TZM–1439, TZM-29 and TZM–1288 showed the most significant (p<0.05) effect on all the growth characters measured. No significant correlation exists between the effluent concentrations and genotypes with the growth characters, while the eigen proportion ranged from Prin 1 (67.10%) to Prin 5 (2.22%).

Conclusion: The effluent from non-alcoholic beverage company’s treated maize plants recorded better growth performances at higher concentrations compare to the control experiment and could be further investigated for use in irrigation farming towards sustainability in agriculture.