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Effects of Pesticides Use (Glyphosate & Paraquat) on Biological Nitrogen Fixation

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Abstract

Pesticide usage is becoming increasingly necessary to escalate agricultural productivity and meet food production needs. However, it harms in different degrees all living organisms, plants, and animals, whether terrestrial or aquatic. Soil microorganisms, are microbes belonging to microorganisms, are the first to be specifically affected by pesticides. This study aims to evaluate the impact of two herbicides, paraquat and glyphosate, on symbiotic nitrogen-fixing bacteria. Our study was carried out in the greenhouse. Bituminaria bituminosa plants were inoculated with four different nitrogen-fixing bacteria, Pantoea agglomerans, Rhizobium nepotum, Rhizobium radiobacter, and Rhizobium tibeticum, and then treated with varying herbicide concentrations were selected according to the doses recommended by the National Office of Food Safety (ONSSA) and according to a survey conducted among farmers in the Meknes region-Morocco, (0.05, 0.1, 5.4, 10.8 g/L glyphosate and 0.05, 0.1, 2, 4 g/L paraquat). After 6 months after sowing, the following parameters were evaluated: nodule number, nodule mass, nodule weight, nodule dry, and fresh weight, nitrogen content, and symbiotic efficiency. At higher doses (5.4, 10.8 g/L for glyphosate and 2, 4 g/L for paraquat), both herbicides decreased the number and the size of nodules, the weight of nodules, nitrogen content of Bituminaria bituminosa and symbiotic efficiency of the four different nitrogen-fixing bacteria studied. The effect of herbicides increased as the used concentration increased. The current research demonstrates that the decreased growth of herbicide-treated plants was caused by herbicides' direct effects on rhizobia rather than herbicides' indirect effects on Bituminaria bituminosa.

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Acknowledgements

Our special thanks to Environment and Valorization of Microbial and Plant Resources Unit, Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Moulay Ismail University, Meknes, Morocco, and all those who helped us to accomplish this work. M. Maldani was a recipient of a Ph.D. fellowship under the Erasmus + KA107 (2018-1-IT02-KA107-047799) Project at the University of Messina, Italy. We would also like to thank the Institute of Biological Resources and Marine Biotechnology (IRBIM)-National Research Council (CNR), Messine, Italy.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Environment and Valorization of Microbial and Plant Resources Unit, Faculty of Sciences, Moulay Ismail University, Meknes, Morocco

    Maldani Mohamed, Fatima Zahra Aliyat, Btissam Ben Messaoud, Nassiri Laila & Ibijbijen Jamal

  2. Institute of Biological Resources and Marine Biotechnology (IRBIM)-CNR of Messina, Sp. San Raineri, 86, 98122, Messina, Italy

    Maldani Mohamed & Cappello Simone

  3. Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical, and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, Messina, Italy

    Maldani Mohamed & Morabito Marina

  4. Department of Veterinary Science, University of Messina, Polo Universitario dell’ Annunziata, Messina, Italy

    Giarratana Filippo

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  1. Maldani Mohamed
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Mohamed, M., Aliyat, F.Z., Ben Messaoud, B. et al. Effects of Pesticides Use (Glyphosate & Paraquat) on Biological Nitrogen Fixation. Water Air Soil Pollut 232, 419 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-021-05367-x

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