Abstract

The study was carried out to determine effect of brewery effluent on the anatomical and morphological characters of Talinum triangulare. Seeds from matured T. triangulare were germinated and transplanted into plastic containers. The seeds were irrigated with 10, 20, 30 and 40% effluent concentrations respectively. A control experiment irrigated with normal water was also set aside. Data were collected on weekly basis until after the thirteenth week when the experiment was terminated. The plant showed significant reduction in the leaf area, seed number, shoot height, this morphological response is also associated with a reduction in various anatomical structure that were studied. The significant reduction was more obvious on plants irrigated with the 30 and 40% effluent concentrations. Stem tissue such as epidermis, cortical cell distance and vessel diameter showed significant reduction. The reduction in the morphological and anatomical character might be an adaptive mechanisms employed by the plant in order to cope with the heavy concentration of the effluent. This study showed that brewery effluents have toxic effect on the T. triangulare and the effects were more pronounced on those irrigated with 30 and 40% effluent concentrations. The physical and morphological characters observed in plants are the repercussion of the various endogenous characters among which are the anatomical characters.

Key words: Brewery effluent, vegetables, irrigation, plant cells.