Effect of Bonny Light Crude Oil Pollution of Soil on the Growth of dayflower (Commelina benghalensis L.) in the Niger Delta, Nigeria

The effect of Bonny Light Crude oil pollution of soil and successive plantings in the same soil at 4 – week intervals on the growth of dayflower (Commelina benghalensis L.) was investigated. The factorial sets of treatments were two levels of oil pollution (0 and 50 mg/g) and 5 successive plantings. Characters assessed were mean plant height, leaf area per plant and mean dry matter weight. At each of the 5 croppings mean plant characters assessed were significantly higher (P = 0.05) at 0 mg/g oil pollution than at the 50 mg oil/g soil pollution level. In the Control treatments, a declining trend in plant growth was observed from the 1st to the 5th crop. In contrast, in the oil-treated soils, an increasing trend was observed.