Degradation of chlordane, carbofuran and paraquat by soil microbes, 1993

This study tested the degradative ability of the microbes in a silage microbial mat, two strains of exotic red bacteria and two strains of Pseudomonas spp. isolated from pesticide-treated soil. The microbes were challenged with carbofuran, paraquat and chlordane as a single pesticide or as a pesticide mixture. At 21 days, residual pesticide was extracted from the soil using EPA method 808OA. The extract was analyzed via HPLC, GC/ms and a toxicity bioassay. Radiolabelled carbofuran was used to determine the final destination of the pesticide. The results confirmed that the microbes were able to degrade all pesticides to some extent and that the absence of microbes resulted in no degradation