The Microbiological and Physiochemical Properties of Soil Impacted With Flour Mill Effluent

Student: Mabel Ekereke Echeng (Project, 2025)
Department of Microbiology
Cross Rivers University of Technology, Calabar, Cross Rivers State

Abstract

The microbiological and physiochemical properties of soil impacted with flour mill effluent were carried out using viable counts and proximate analysis. Total Heterotrophic Bacterial Count of the polluted and unpolluted soil samples. Soil sites not polluted with flour mill effluents which served as control. The total heterotrophic bacterial count of the sample was determined using pour plate method. Enumeration from soil impacted with flour mill effluent is lower (2.7x10^4 - 3.5x10^4 cfu/g) compared to the control (4.2x10^4 cfu/g). The total coliform count which ranged from (2.4x10^4 - 2.3x10^4 cfu/g) is also lower compared to control. The total fungal count also followed the same trend. The microbial species isolated includes; Staphylococcus spp., Micrococcus spp., Escherichia coli, Bacillus spp., Klebsiella spp., and Salmonella spp. The proximate composition of the flour determined as that flour contains nutritional components as the moisture content was determined as 59.44±0.05%, Ash content 5.02±0.07%, Crude protein 8.73±0.26%, Crude fiber 8.108±0.03%, Crude fat 9.16±0.04% and Carbohydrate content 9.3±0.05% of the soil. This result indicates that the continuous disposal of the flour mill effluent in to the soil around the mill has reduced the soil quality leading to low crop yield in the affected areas.

Keywords
flour mill effluent soil pollution microbiological properties physicochemical properties heterotrophic bacterial count coliform count fungal count proximate analysis soil contamination crop yield reduction effluent impact microbial load
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