Title Page                                                                      Â
Certification                                                               Â
Dedication                                                                   Â
Acknowledgement                                                       Â
Table of Contents                                                         Â
Abstract                                                                  Â
CHAPTER ONE
- Introduction and Literature Review                       Â
1.1  Introduction                                                          Â
- Literature Review                                                   Â
- Definition of heavy metals                                           Â
- Characteristics of Nickel                                        Â
- Nickel in the environment                                       Â
- Biological roles of nickel                                      Â
- Absorption of nickel by plant                                Â
- Accumulation of Nickel in plants                           Â
- Nickel and photosynthesis                                    Â
- Effects of nickel on plant respiration                             Â
- Metabolic effects of nickel                                              Â
- Effects of nickel on enzyme activity               Â
- Mechanism of nickel toxicity                         Â
- Strategies of plant tolerance to nickel toxicityÂ
- Management of nickel toxicity                       Â
- Land management procedure                        Â
1.2.13.2  Phytoremediation                                           Â
1.2.14     The use of micro-organisms to mitigate nickel toxicity                                                          22
- Scientific classification of Sorghum                   Â
- Chemical Composition and Nutritive Value of
Sorghum                                                                 25
1.5  Classification of sorghum                                               28
1.6  Uses of Sorghum                                                    29
1.7  Germination / Growth Stages of Sorghum                      32
1.7.1 Growth Stages                                                              32
1.72 Nutrient Uptake                                                      36
1.8  Diseases of Grain Sorghum                                    37
1.9  Activities that induce Germination                         38
1.10 Metabolism of Germinating Seeds                          40
1.11 NPK (15-15-15) Fertilizer                                        41
1.11.1Catalase                                                                44
1.12 History of Catalase                                                  45
1.12.1 Activities of Catalase                                           46
1.12.2 Molecular mechanism of catalase action                     47
1.13 Superoxide Dismatase                                            48
1.13.1Types of Superoxide Dismutase                            49
1.13.2 Physiological Importance of Superoxide Dismutase     51
1.13.3 Use of Superoxide Dismutase in Cosmetic           52
1.14 Peroxidase                                                              52
1.14.1 Isozymes of Glutathione Peroxidase                     53
1.15 Oxidative stress and reactive oxygen species          53
1.16 Objective of the Study                                             56
CHAPTER TWO
- Materials and Method                                             55
2.1  Materials                                                                 55
2.1.1       Contaminant                                                          55
- Fertilizer                                                                 55
- Quantity of soil used                                                       55
- Source of Soil                                                         55
- Source of Soybean seed used                                  56
- Instruments/Apparatus used                                 56
- Reagents used for the study                                    57
- Methods                                                                  59
- Preparation of Soil                                                  59
- Contamination of Soil                                             59
- Viability test of Seeds                                              59
- Experimental design                                                       59
- Biochemical analysis                                                      62
- Estimation of total protein                                  61
- Estimation of malondialdehyde level                  64
- Estimation of Superoxide Dismutase activity              66
- Estimation of Catalase activity                            68
- Estimation of peroxidase activity                        70
2.2.6        Statistical Analysis                                                       72
CHAPTER THREE
- Results                                                                   73
3.1  Soil Analysis                                                           78
CHAPTER FOUR
- Discussion and Conclusion                                    79
Bibliography                                                                   83
Appendix One: Reagents Preparation                                      97
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