ABSTRACT
Vehicle exhaust fumes emission, as one ofleading major source amongsmoke producing air
pollutants, wasexamined in thisstudy. Nairobi,a mega-citywith increasingly high levels of air
pollutionwas studied with special emphasison one of its roads,Waiyaki Highway. Objectives
were to find if there is air pollution,air pollution effects growth and stress of plants. This
roadwasinvestigated to gain scientific understanding of the effects of vehicle fumes on plants.
Hotspots (ICEA building, ABC Place, and Kangemi Market), had unique characteristics,
whichincluded moribund trees or plants, dark tree trunks and leaves due to air pollution.
Lycopersicon esculentumMill., (1768), tomato plants that is highly susceptible to air pollution
was exposed to the air at selected sites along the highway. Four experiments were set, (three as
test experiments and one, control) using a raised platform containing twelve plants in polythene
bags and irrigated frequently. For the study analysis, data was collection on pollution level, seed
germination rate, height growth, leaf length, flower count, biomass, stress and stomata account
for three months.Thedatawas analysed using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA),Kruskal Wallis
and Poisson distribution in Genestat software. Means were separated by use of Least Significant
Difference (LSD) α = 0.05.The Waiyaki Highway had consistence air pollution, for whole
period of this study (averagingPM1042.6μgm/m3for test sites). The control experiment at NARL
had similar environmental conditions but no significant air pollution(PM10 0.6μgm/m3).The
control experiment was protected from air pollution related to vehicle fumes by long distance
away from the road plus canopies of trees thriving in between to shield experimental plants.
Seed germination rate results, showed that,there were no significant differences at(P
LUGADIRU, J (2021). Effects Of Air Pollution On Tomato Plants (Lycopersiconesculentum)Grown Along Waiyaki Highwayin Nairobi County, Kenya. Afribary. Retrieved from https://track.afribary.com/works/effects-of-air-pollution-on-tomato-plants-lycopersiconesculentum-grown-along-waiyaki-highwayin-nairobi-county-kenya
LUGADIRU, JESSE "Effects Of Air Pollution On Tomato Plants (Lycopersiconesculentum)Grown Along Waiyaki Highwayin Nairobi County, Kenya" Afribary. Afribary, 08 May. 2021, https://track.afribary.com/works/effects-of-air-pollution-on-tomato-plants-lycopersiconesculentum-grown-along-waiyaki-highwayin-nairobi-county-kenya. Accessed 27 Nov. 2024.
LUGADIRU, JESSE . "Effects Of Air Pollution On Tomato Plants (Lycopersiconesculentum)Grown Along Waiyaki Highwayin Nairobi County, Kenya". Afribary, Afribary, 08 May. 2021. Web. 27 Nov. 2024. < https://track.afribary.com/works/effects-of-air-pollution-on-tomato-plants-lycopersiconesculentum-grown-along-waiyaki-highwayin-nairobi-county-kenya >.
LUGADIRU, JESSE . "Effects Of Air Pollution On Tomato Plants (Lycopersiconesculentum)Grown Along Waiyaki Highwayin Nairobi County, Kenya" Afribary (2021). Accessed November 27, 2024. https://track.afribary.com/works/effects-of-air-pollution-on-tomato-plants-lycopersiconesculentum-grown-along-waiyaki-highwayin-nairobi-county-kenya