engleski

Effects of herbicides and fungicides on behaviour and biomarker responses in the earthworm

Intensive use of pesticides in agriculture can have a detrimental effect on soil ecosystems and soil organisms. Despite the frequent use of pesticides and high number of conducted studies on pesticide adverse effects, there is still a lack of information on the effects of some pesticides on non-target organisms. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the impact of herbicide and fungicide on earthworm Eisenia andrei. Commercial formulation of herbicide Koban T contains active substances pethoxamide (300 g/L) and terbuthylazine (250 g/L), and commercial formulation of fungicide Pyrus 400 SC contains pyrimethanil as active ingredient (400 g/L). Effects of these pesticides on earthworms were assessed using an artificial soil test and assessing the changes in behavior of earthworms, activities of several enzymes [acetylcholinesterase (AChE), carboxylesterase (CES), catalase (CAT), glutathione-reductase (GR), glutathione S-transferase (GST)], and the multixenobiotic resistance activity (MXR). Both investigated pesticides caused the avoidance of treated soil. Changes in the measured enzyme activities were more prominent after exposure to herbicide. Both pesticides caused changes in MXR activity – herbicide caused inhibition of MXR activity whereas exposure to fungicide resulted in inhibition of MXR activity at lower concentrations and induction of MXR activity at higher concentrations. The results showed that both investigated pesticides affected the measured parameters in earthworms and exposure to these pesticides could have harmful effects on earthworms.

pesticides ; avoidance response ; enzyme activity, multixenobiotic resistance activity ; Eisenia andrei

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