The effect of crude oil on the physicochemical properties of sandy loam soil amended with cocoa pod husk and plantain peels was carried out in the Department of Genetics and Biotechnology, University of Calabar, Calabar. Top soil (0-15cm depth) was randomly collected from four points, bulked to form composite sample, sieved and two kilogrammes each were weighed into thirty six plastic buckets, which were then polluted with 250ml of crude oil. The plastic buckets were labeled in single form (COC1, 400CPH, 500CPH, COC2, 400PP, 500PP), and in combined forms (COC3, 200CPH + 200PP, 250CPH + 250PP), with the control as PC1, PC2, PC3 (0g) without crude oil. The amendments were applied and soil samples taken at baseline (before and after pollution) and 90 days after treatment. The result shows that the organic carbon before and after pollution of the soil were 1.29±0.02 and 6.42±0.03 respectively and the pH of the soil before and after pollution were 5.20±0.10 and 5.90±0.10 respectively. The result of this study shows that the pH values of the treated soil was 7.90±0.06 and 8.10±0.06 for 400CPH, 500CPH respectively, 7.40±0.06 and 7.80±0.06 and 7.40±0.06 for 400PP, 500PP respectively and 7.2±0.01 and 7.40±0.06 for 200CPH+200PP, 250CPH+250PP respectively as compared with the crude oil controls (COC) 5.89±0.03. The result of percentage organic carbon content of the soil after treatment were 2.80±0.06 and 2.45±0.01 for 400CPH and 500CPH respectively, 3.26±0.01 and 2.99±0.02 for 400PP, 500PP respectively and 2.85±0.06 and 2.62±0.04 for 200CPH + 200PP, 250CPH + 250PP respectively, as compared with the crude oil control (COC1) 5.98±0.04. This result thus suggest that cocoa pod husk due to its buffering capacity is a good bioremediating agent that should be used in the degradation of petroleum hydrocarbons in regions where they is an oil spill.
