Effectiveness of biodegradation and ecotoxicological profile of the herbicide Zethamaxx in soil, by the test organism Allium cepa

Abstract

Due to the growing demand for food, the world consumption of pesticides has grown considerably in recent years in an attempt to provide an increase in agricultural productivity from the reduction of losses because of the presence of pests. Brazil, one of the largest agricultural producers and exporters, is one of the five countries that most consume pesticides in the world. Among them, Zethamaxx is a herbicide widely used in soybean cultivation, whose Brazil is the largest producer of this grain in the world. Despite the significant economic gains from the use of pesticides, this practice has resulted in intense environmental degradation of different environments (soil, water, and atmosphere), compromising the quality of ecosystems and the health of exposed organisms. In this sense, this project aims to verify the biodegradation potential of the herbicide Zethamaxx, in 3 different concentrations, by an inoculum enriched with autochthonous microorganisms to be selected from agricultural soils with a previous history of contamination by pesticides. The biodegradability of this herbicide will be evaluated by respirometry, quantifying the daily production of CO2. Additionally, the ecotoxicogenetic effects of Zethamaxx over the test organism Allium cepa will also be studied, before and after the biodegradation process, as a way of evaluating the effectiveness of this process. Thus, the expectations are to contribute to future depollution events of environments contaminated by this herbicide.