Growth and metabolic activities of cowpea seedlings exposed to artificial pond wastewater‑treated soil

purpose the increase in demand for fsh has necessitated the establishment of fsh pond. the discharge of spent pond water pollutes the adjoining surroundings. the aim of this investigation was to determine the suitability of artifcial pond wastewater (apww) as source of manure for crop cultivation.method cowpea seeds were planted in polybags containing soil treated with varied amount of artifcial pond wastewater. thereafter, growth and various metabolic properties of cowpea seedlings were determined using standard procedures.results artifcial pond wastewater treatment of soil increased signifcantly (p<0.05) the growth parameters, content of biomolecules and activities of alpha amylase, starch phosphorylase and peroxidase when compared to the control. exposure of the seedlings to apww did not alter most oxidative stress markers compared to the control. in addition, apww in soil signifcantly (p<0.05) increases the levels of vitamin c but had no alterations in the activities of succinate dehydrogenase (sdh), lactate dehydrogenase (ldh) and sulphite oxidase (so) of the cowpea seedlings compared to those of the controls. the activities of aldehyde oxidase (ao) and xanthine oxidase (xo) signifcantly (p<0.05) increased compared with the control.conclusion the major efects of apww on plants were stimulation of growth parameters, increase in concentration of macromolecules as well as increase in activities of starchmetabolizing enzymes, and peroxidase activity with no adverse efect on antioxidant, respiratory and drugmetabolizing enzymes, thus, suggesting that artifcial pond wastewater has positive efect on cowpea seedlings and can act as organic fertilizer for cowpea cultivation.