Impact analysis of palm oil mill effluent on the aerobic bacterial density and ammonium oxidizers in a dumpsite in Anyigba, Kogi State

The effects of palm oil mill effluent (POME) on the total aerobic bacterial populations and ammonium oxidizers in the soil were assessed. This was done by culturing soil samples from an effluent dumpsite for the total aerobic bacterial counts and ammonium oxidizers. Results showed that the total aerobic bacterial populations in the POME soil samples (9.6 x 108 ± 0.3 at 20oC, 1.64 x 109 ± 0.2 at 30oC and 1.07 x 109 ± 0.4 at 40oC) were significantly higher (P 0.05) than the counts for the non-POME soil samples (4.5 x 108 ± 0.3 at 20oC, 7.6 x 108 ± 0.3 at 30oC and 5.9 x 108 ± 0.3 at 40oC). In addition, ammonium oxidizers were isolated from the non-POME soil samples but not from the POME soil samples.