Arrested Development in Manihot esculenta Crantz Exposed to Nigeria’s Forcados Blend Crude Oil

The susceptibility of Manihot esculenta to Nigeria’s Forcados blend crude oil was investigated for 8 weeks using soil supplemented with 0-5% v/w oil/soil. Parameters considered include, plant height, leaf area, dry weight, relative growth rate, total chlorophyll and nitrate reductase activity of the plant. A significant (p=0.05) reduction in these parameters were observed in plants exposed to oil treatments. Comparatively, the control plants had a mean height and chlorophyll level of 43.27±3.08 cm and 3.2468±0.0038 mg g^-1 f.wt respectively after 8 weeks, while plants grown in soil containing 5% oil correspondingly had 23.70±0.00 cm and 1.9374±0.0052 g^-1 f.wt. The oil treatment also had a significant inhibitory effect on the nitrogen metabolism of the plant as indicated by nitrate reductase activity. The results of this study showed the toxic effects of Nigeria’s Forcados blend crude oil on Manihot esculenta.