Physiological effects of crude oil on plants

Abstract

This study evaluated the effect of petroleum crude oil contaminated soil on the mineral nutrient elements. The word petroleum means “rocky oil” or “oil from the earth”. Although exactly how crude oil originated is not established, it is generally agreed that crude oil is derived from the remains of animals and plants that lived in marine water millions of years ago. As more layers deposited on top of one another of these remains, pressure and heat acting on them chemically converted the organic material into what is called crude oil. Physiological effects of crude oil on plants including the seed germination , seedling and plant growth. Generally, crude oil contamination causes reduction of plant growth as it interferes with the uptake of nutrients by plants. It also causes competition for the little nutrient available in the polluted soils between plants and soil microbes and ultimately suppresses the growth of plants in such soil.