Some microorganisms associated with soils exposed to Cassava (Manihot esculatum) peels

Abstract

It is a common practice in many parts of the tropics to dump cassava peels in open fields. This work is aimed at isolating and characterizing major microorganisms associated with soils from such dump sites. Two separate soil samples exposed to cassava (Manihot esculentum) peels and another sample from a maize farm were collected from Iwo, South–West, Nigeria and analysed for pH, organic matter and microbial profile. Soils exposed to cassava peels had pH values of 9.63 and 9.45 while that from maize farm had pH value of 6.83. Organic matter contents for soil exposed to cassava peels were 2.74 and 3.92ug/g while that from maize farm was 2.0ug/g. Mean bacterial counts for soils exposed to cassava peels were 18x106 cfu/ml and 15x106 cfu/ml while that of maize farm was 2.5x106 cfu/ml; fungal counts in the same order were 8.8x104 cfu/ml, 7.9x104 cfu/ml and 1.6x104 cfu/ml. Frequencies of bacterial isolates from soils exposed to cassava peels were Streptococcus sp (17.7%), Lactobacillus sp (14.7%), Bacillus sp and Corynebacterium sp.(11.8% each) and the least was Agrobacterium sp (5.9%). The findings revealed that cassava peels have the ability to serve as enrichment for the growth of some bacteria when present in the soil.