Pesticides add to plant growth problems: Study

For long, farmers have been using pesticides for increased crop yield, but an astounding fact claims that pesticides may instead be contributing to growth problems.

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After having researched extensively both on test-tube plants and the real ones, the scientists have come to the conclusion that artificial chemicals in pesticides through application or exposure to crops through runoff disrupt natural nitrogen-fixing cycle between crops and soil bacteria. The disruption resulting in lower yields or significantly delayed growth.

In the paper, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), the five-member team reports that agrochemicals remain bound to and chunk links to specific receptors (NodD) inside rhizobia microbes living in root nodules in the soil, which is particularly fatal to leguminous crops such as alfalfa and soybeans that need such interaction to naturally replace nitrogen levels. Legume plants emit chemical signals that engage the friendly bacteria that work with the plants to convert atmospheric nitrogen into ammonia, which is used as fertilizer by the plants, but overuse of agrochemicals leaves a shortage of natural nitrogen in the soil for the next year's crop to utilize.

Overuse of fertilizers strips nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorous from the soil, interrupting root structures and disturbing the nitrogen-fixing bacteria, resulting in poor soil quality.

The researchers would now look forward to conducting field-wide experiments, in addition to verification tests the exact elements of pesticides that restrain natural plant-bacteria interaction.

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Via: Biologynews