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The effects of herbicide application on two soil phosphate solubilizing bacteria: Pantoea agglomerans and Serratia rubidaea

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Abstract

The application of synthetic pesticides is one of the fastest acting tools at farmers' disposal to prevent and mitigate the threats posed by plant pests in agriculture. However, the effects of these above-ground applications of pesticides are known to be detrimental to some belowground, non-target soil biota. At present, the effects many pesticides have on key functional microbial groups associated with phosphate (P) solubilization in the soil are still largely unknown. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of two herbicides, glyphosate, and paraquat, on phosphate solubilizing bacteria (PSB) with and without pH adjustment (after herbicide addition) since pH is a major indicator of P solubilization. In our assay, two PSB strains (Pantoea agglomerans and Serratia rubidaea) were chosen to assess their ability to solubilize tricalcium phosphate (TCP) by using the vanadate-molybdate method (to measure the amount of P solubilized) in the presence of glyphosate (5.4 g/L and 10.8 g/L) or paraquat (2 g/L and 4 g/L) separately. To assess the effect of PSB treated by the herbicides, a growth experiment using PSB inoculated wheat seedlings was performed under greenhouse conditions (25 °C, light 16 h/8 h dark). After four weeks, wheat above-ground growth parameters were measured. Our results showed that even under recommended doses of glyphosate (5.4 g/L) and paraquat (2 g/L), a decrease in P solubilization activity was observed in P. agglomerans and S. rubidaea. Whilst paraquat affected TCP solubilization more than glyphosate with and without pH adjustment, there was a significant decrease (p < 0.05) in TCP solubilization, up to 39% and 93% in the presence of glyphosate and paraquat, respectively, for S. rubidaea, and up to 45% and 95% in the presence of glyphosate and paraquat, respectively, for P. agglomerans. The effect of the herbicides on the PSB had the same results as in the greenhouse test on wheat seedling growth, confirming that these herbicides have both above and belowground negative effects, despite being used at recommended doses.

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Acknowledgements

Our special thanks to the Environment & Soil Microbiology Unit, Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Moulay Ismail University, Meknes, Morocco, and all those who helped us to accomplish this work. M.M was a recipient of a Ph.D. fellowship under the Erasmus + KA107 (2018-1-IT02-KA107-047799) Project at the University of Messina, Italy.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological & Forensic Sciences, Fayetteville State University, 1200 Murchison Road, Fayetteville, NC, 28301, USA

    Mohamed Maldani

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

    Mohamed Maldani, Fatima Zahra Aliyat, Laila Nassiri & Jamal Ibijbijen

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

    Marina Morabito

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

    Filippo Giarratana

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  1. Mohamed Maldani
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Maldani, M., Aliyat, F.Z., Morabito, M. et al. The effects of herbicide application on two soil phosphate solubilizing bacteria: Pantoea agglomerans and Serratia rubidaea. Ecotoxicology 32, 720–735 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-023-02681-4

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