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Earthworm’s show tolerance and avoidance response to pesticide clothianidin: effect on antioxidant enzymes

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Abstract

In the agricultural sector, excessive utilization of pesticides has contaminated soil at an alarming level. This leads to alteration in the structure and fertility of soil ecosystems which further results in an imbalance between flora and fauna of the soil. Earthworm is an important soil macrofauna and a key indicator species in ecotoxicological risk assessment of pesticide-contaminated soil. Neonicotinoids have become the extensively used group of pesticides in the world. As a novel neonicotinoids insecticide, clothianidin has been commonly utilized for crop protection with high biological effectiveness against different pests. The present study aimed to determine the tolerance and avoidance response of earthworms towards clothianidin (Dantotsu 50% WDG) in terms of various parameters like mortality, growth, reproduction, and enzyme activities by using an artificial soil medium. The results showed that 7 days and 14 days LC50 value of clothianidin was 16.01 and 12.00 mg/kg while EC50 value of clothianidin was 2.61 mg/kg. In growth and reproduction test, a significant decrease in body weight of earthworm was observed. Cocoon number, cocoon weight and hatchling production were also decreased significantly with an increase in concentration and exposure time. Based on growth and reproduction tests, earthworms showed tolerance potential up to 24 mg/kg till 14th day of exposure period. Different enzyme activities such as SOD, CAT, GST and POD were also carried out and significant changes were observed in dose and time-dependent manner.

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The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge Department of Botanical and Environmental Sciences, Guru Nanak Dev University Amritsar, Punjab, India for the necessary lab facilities.

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  1. J. Singh and A.P. Vig: Shared Senior Authorship

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  1. Department of Botanical and Environmental Sciences, Guru Nanak Dev University Amritsar, Amritsar, Punjab, 143005, India

    A. B. Chowdhary, J. Quadar, S. Singh, R. Dutta, D. Angmo & A. P. Vig

  2. Department of Zoology, Khalsa College Amritsar, Amritsar, Punjab, 143005, India

    J. Singh

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  1. A. B. Chowdhary
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Contributions

APV and JS designed the experiment. ABC performed the experiment, collected and analyzed the data. SS, JQ, RD and DA assisted in experimental work. SS gave useful suggestions for data analysis. The first draft of the manuscript was written by ABC while APV and JS read and revised the manuscript. All authors reviewed and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to A. P. Vig.

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Chowdhary, A.B., Singh, J., Quadar, J. et al. Earthworm’s show tolerance and avoidance response to pesticide clothianidin: effect on antioxidant enzymes. Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol. 20, 4245–4254 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-022-04092-0

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