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ABSTRACT
Effluent is a complex organic material, with both advantages and inconveniences for its use. Industrial effluent contain a large number of both known and unknown substances formed during the production process. Rubber effluent is a liquid leftover which arises during latex processing. The practice of indiscriminate discharge of large volumes of rubber effluent onto soil and water sources as a means of disposal is wasteful in terms of resource utilization and contradicts the present day agricultural technical development. The controlled applications of rubber effluent on land have been reported to cause changes in soil properties. The trial was carried out in an experimental plot situated in the Department of Plant Biology and Biotechnology, faculty of life sciences, University of Benin, Benin city, Nigeria. The experiment was arranged in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) and each treatments were replicated three times. The treatment (rubber effluent) was applied at the rate of 0, 50, 100, 150, 200, and 250 per kilogram of soil. Results of the rubber effluent analysis revealed that it is rich in some plant nutrients and the effluent also had positive effect on some soil chemical properties as well as the growth of soybean. The number of leaves, stem girth and plant height were statistically significant at P < 0.05. The soil enriched (mixed) with various concentration of rubber effluent were better than the control. The increase in plant height, number of leaves and stem girth is attributed to the presence of high soil nutrient content provided by the rubber effluent applied. The electrical conductivity, zinc, phosphorus, iron and calcium of the soil were significantly higher (P < 0.05) in the rubber effluent treated soils than the control. Conclusively, rubber effluent contain vital plant nutrients which may be favorable to soil fertility improvement and soybean growth at the application rates.
