Introducing cotton farming by the use of transgenic cotton for phytoremediation of industrial wastes polluted soils in Southern Nigeria

Industrialization in the Niger Delta region of southern Nigeria has resulted in excessive discharge of industrial wastes, especially oil spillage. Farming in this region has declined and cotton farming has not survived there due to this menace. Phytoremediation, which is an emerging green technology has been adopted for the revitalization of farming in polluted sites and has been integrated towards solving this challenge. Many indigenous plants of high phytoremediation strength within and outside Nigeria have been reported. The use of genetic engineering approaches for developing transgenic plants with higher phytoremediation potential have also been successful in certain plants. This review, therefore, focused on phytoremediation, its impact, success, potential plants, plant’s phytoremediation mechanisms, and the technological advancement need through cotton genetic engineering. Cotton is the foremost commercially important fiber crop and its fiber is the backbone of the textile industry. It has significant impact in the economy but its phytoremediation strength is naturally poor; hence, prompting attention to the genetic modification of cotton for phytoremediation purposes and basing the future phytoremediation on the use of transgenic economic plants, especially cotton, are of significant importance.   Key words: Pollution, farming, cotton, phytoremediation, genetic engineering.