*Chukwunonso A. and Nurudeen N
The tradition of farming on pieces of land situated around waste dumps for the purpose of harvesting soil nutrients to enhance crop productivity is of great agricultural importance. However constant incineration of waste dumps may not guarantee this assumption. Nitrate, chlorophyll and zinc were quantified in the soil and leaves of MANIHOT ESCULENTUM as a life cycle assessment indices to estimate nutrient cycling and impact on productivity. Leaves of M. ESCULENTUM were collected from farmland along Uyo waste dump sites, they were washed and shade dried. Chlorophyll concentration in fresh samples was determined spectrophotometrically at 480nm while nitrate and zinc concentrations were determined using atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS). The result showed that chlorophyll content was slightly lower in leave samples from farm land along the dumpsite (17.53±0.09 mg/kg) against the control samples (18.92±0.09 mg/kg). Nitrate content significantly decreased (20.69±0.09 mg/kg) than the control (69.41±0.69 mg/kg). Zinc content of M. ESCULENTUM leaves from dumpsite areas showed slight decrease (0.96±0.14 mg/kg) than the control (1.53±0.08 mg/kg). Soil sample analysis showed that nitrate concentration was slightly higher (20.95±0.35 mg/kg) than the control (20.45±0.15 mg/kg). Zinc concentration in the dumpsite soil was 1.18±0.28 mg/kg while the control soil contained 1.55±0.05mg/kg. Generally, the leaves of M. ESCULENTUM showed lower nitrate, chlorophyll and zinc contents against the farmers’ assumption and could lead to lower productivity as a result of constant burning.
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