Influence of a Commercial Biological Fungicide containing Trichoderma harzianum Rifai T-22 on Dissipation Kinetics and Degradation of Five Herbicides in Two Types of Soil

Abstract

Biological crop protection is recommended to be applied alternately or together with chemical one, to protect human health from the excessive use of toxic pesticides. Presence of microorganisms can influence the concentration of chemical pollutants in soil. The aim of this study is to estimate the influence of a commercial biological fungicide containing Trichoderma harzianum Rifai T-22 on dissipation kinetics and degradation of five herbicides belonging to different chemical classes: clomazone, fluazifop-P-butyl, metribuzin, pendimethalin, and propyzamide, in two types of soil. Results of the study revealed that T. harzianum T-22 influences pesticide degradation and dissipation kinetics of the non-persistent herbicides: clomazone, fluazifop-P-butyl, and metribuzin. In soil with a higher content of nitrogen, phosphorus, and organic matter, degradation increased by up to 24.2%, 24.8%, and 23.5% for clomazone, fluazifop-P-butyl, and metribuzin, respectively. In soil with lower organic content, degradation was on a low level, of 16.1%, 17.7%, and 16.3% for clomazone, fluazifop-P-butyl, and metribuzin, respectively. In our study, the addition of the biological preparation shortened herbicide dissipation half-lives, from 0.3 days (2.9%) for fluazifop-P-butyl, to 18.4 days (25.1%) for clomazone. During the degradation study, no significant differences were noticed for pendimethalin, belonging to persistent substances. Biological protection of crops can modify pesticide concentrations and dissipation rates. On one hand, this may result in the reduced effectiveness of herbicide treatments, while on the other, it can become a tool for achieving cleaner environment.

The effect of natural and biological pesticides on the degradation of synthetic pesticides

“…In the soil with a lower organic content, the degra-dation was at a low level, at 16.1%, 17.7% and 16.3% for clomazone, fluazifop-P-butyl, and metribuzin, respectively. The results obtained for more persistent pesticides: propyzamide and pendimethalin were not advantageous (Szpyrka et al 2020).…”

“…Trichoderma spp. are used in biopesticides because of their ability to destroy other fungi, induce resistance to plant pathogens, improve plant growth, solubilise plant nutrients, and bioremediate heavy metals and environmental pollutants, such as pesticides (Szpyrka et al 2020). For the biodegradation https://doi.org/10.17221/152/2021-PPS of pesticides, Trichoderma spp.…”

Effect of Three Commercial Formulations Containing Effective Microorganisms (EM) on Diflufenican and Flurochloridone Degradation in Soil

“…Recently, many scientists isolated and cultured various microorganism species from the environment to conduct studies on pesticide degradation. The main types of microorganisms include Bacillus , Pseudomonas , Flavobacterium , Micrococcus , Acinetobacter , Aerobacter , Alcaligenes, Flavobacterium , Clostridium , Actinomycetes , Penicillium , Aspergillus , Fusarium , and Trichoderma [ 11 , 16 , 17 , 18 ].…”