BIODEGRADATION KINETICS OF THE HERBICIDE, ROUNDUP BY SOME SOIL MICROORGANISMS

📄 Project Abstract

The need to feed the world's increasing population has prompted the use of agrochemicals to increase food production and ensure the continuation of the human race. Such agrochemicals include pesticides like 2, 4-diphenoxyacetic acid, (2, 4-D), several formulations of inorganic fertilizer and the subject of this study Roundup. The increased use of pesticides in agricultural soils causes the contamination of the soil with toxic chemicals. When pesticides are applied, the possibilities exist that these pesticides may exert certain effects on non-target organisms, including soil microorganisms (Simon-Sylvestre and Fournier, 1979; Wardle and Parkinson, 1990). The microbial biomass plays an important role in the soil ecosystem where they play a crucial role in nutrient cycling and decomposition (De-Lorenzo et al., 2001). During the past four decades, a large number of herbicides have been introduced as pre and post-emergent weed killers in many countries of the world. In Nigeria, herbicides ...