Impact of pesticides on soil microbiological parameters and possible bioremediation strategies

Abstract

Intensive agriculture is spectacularly successful since last couple of decades due to the inputs viz; fertilizers and pesticides along with high yielding varieties.

Assessing the impact of azadirachtin application to soil on ureaseactivity and its kinetic parameters

“…The negative effects of pesticides on the environment have prompted the search for alternative means of pest control (Powers et al, 1993;Sarathchandra et al, 1996;Agyaro et al, 2006). An ideal pesticide should be toxic only to the target organism and biodegradable, and its residue should not affect nontarget surfaces (Chowdhury et al, 2008). One such ideal alternative is the use of natural plant products that have pesticidal activity, such as azadirachtin (Akça et al, 2005).…”

Impact of Pesticides on Soil Microbial Diversity and Enzymes: A Review

“…Introduction of polar groups on phenyl ring viz. OH, COOH and NH 2 makes the compound subject to microbial attack which enhances degradation process (Chowdhury et al, 2008). The presence of halogen or alkyl substituent have a tendency to make the molecule more resistant more resistant to biodegradation (Cork and Krueger, 1991).…”

“…The adverse effect of pesticides may also include soil fertility (Schuster and Schroder, 1990). An ideal pesticide should be biodegradable and toxic to only the target organism (Chowdhury et al, 2008). When pesticides are applied in the environment, they undergo transformation processes, these transformations are carried out by various mechanisms like physical, chemical and biological agents where microorganisms play a key role.…”

Growth suppression of legumes in pyriproxyfen stressed soils:<br>A comparative study

“…The behavior of pesticides in the environment depends on its stability, physico-chemical properties, the nature of the medium into which it is applied, the organisms present, and the prevailing climatic conditions (Ahemad et al, 2009;Ismail et al, 2009;Abou Ayana et al, 2011). Some of the negative effects of pesticides include low crop yield (Fox et al, 2007;Ahemad and Khan, 2012a), destruction of soil micro-fauna and flora (Chowdhury et al, 2008) and their beneficial physiological activities (Madhaiyan et al, 2006;Ahemad and Khan, 2010), undesirable residue accumulation in food crops (Mattina et al, 2000) and decreased soil fertility (Abdalla et al, 2009). Further, they affect the soil microbial communities by adversely decreasing protein synthesis and inhibiting various metabolic enzymes (Boldt and Jacobsen, 1998;Ahemad and Khan, 2012b;Ahemad and Khan, 2012c).…”