Dynamic Impact of Chromium on Nutrient Uptake from Soil by Fluted Pumpkin (Telfairia occidentalis)

Pot experiments were conducted to investigate the impact of chromium on nutrient uptake by fluted pumpkin (Telfairia occidentalis) in soil. The study was conducted with a sandy loam soil for three weeks on a slightly acidic soil. Stratified sampling method was used. Soil samples were collected before and after planting to determine soil nutrient concentrations using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer and Hach Spectrometer. The result showed a maximum uptake of 27.5%, 17.57%, 17.07%, 9.76%, 18.44% and 3.66% for N, P. Mg, Fe, Ca, and K respectively. Excellent morphological characteristics were observed at 2.5ppm chromium concentration with average height, average number of leaves and average distance between nodes as 33.0cm, 10 and 4.8cm in contrast with 21.0cm, 8 and 2.3cm respectively. The impact of chromium concentration showed no specific trend on all nutrients considered, but had varying effects on the uptake of individual nutrient. The result also showed that increasing chromium concentration inhibit the uptake of Mg, Fe, Ca and P possibly due to competition for sorption site, masking and the formation of insoluble complexes