Abstract

Cement dust caused serious environmental pollution problem, the pollutants of the cement industry produced adverse impact on air, water and land. During the last decades, the emission of dust from cement factories has been increased alarmingly due to the expansion of more cement plants to meet the requirement of cement materials for construction of buildings. This study was aimed at knowing the effect of cement dust pollutants on the morphology and yield characteristics of maize (Zea mays L.) plants grown at different concentrations. The plants were sprayed separately with 2g, 4g and 6g of cement dust while untreated plants served as the control. The study indicated that parameters reductions in maize correlated directly with particulate pollutant which led to lower yield at the 6g of cement dust. Increased concentration of cement dust pollutants caused invisible injuries like progressive decline in photosynthetic ability, chlorosis, necrosis and closure of leaf stomata. This affected the growth and productivity of the plant. It was observed that the maize plants at 6g had morphological reduction in growth and yield than 2g and 4g respectively. Overall study shows that the control plants were healthier in terms of morphological and yield parameters.

Key Words:  Cement dust, Zea mays, Growth parameters, Chlorophyll content, yield