Abstract: The study examines the levels of heavy metals (lead, cadmium, mercury, and arsenic) in the tissues of Saccharum officinarum (sugar
cane), Musa parasidiaca (plantain), and Manihot esculenta (cassava) grown in Otuoke, Bayelsa State. Existing literature has shown that heavy
metals can be absorbed by plants from contaminated soils. Samples of the crops were taken from three locations (Beach Road, Kakata Road and
PA Road) in Otuoke community. The atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS) was used to quantified the concentrations of heavy metals in the
plant samples. The results revealed that cassava accumulated the highest concentrations of lead (0.10-0.14 mg/kg) and cadmium (0.015-0.03
mg/kg), while plantain showed higher arsenic concentrations (0.02-0.04 mg/kg). Mercury levels were low and consistent in all the plant samples,
ranging from 0.003 mg/kg to 0.008 mg/kg. Sugar cane tissues had lead concentrations between 0.03 mg/kg and 0.07 mg/kg, with the highest levels
in leaf tissues, and arsenic concentrations from 0.015 mg/kg to 0.03 mg/kg. The study revealed significant variations in the uptake and accumulation
of Lead, Cadmium, Mercury and Arsenic in plant tissues. These results highlight the need for monitoring and implementation of strategies that
could mitigate heavy metal contamination in agricultural crops to protect biodiversity and human health.
Keywords: Heavy Metals in Plant Tissues, Sugar Cane, Plantain, Cassava and Soil Pollutionjaerem NEW Benefit Onu 25A
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