A Multi-agent Approach to Bioremediation of Organophosphate Pesticide Contaminated Soil: Bacteria, Fungi, Plant Extracts and Animal By- products.

Abstract: Pesticides are potentially hazardous chemicals that have a long half-life in the environment. They can be toxic to both aquatic and terrestrial organisms, endangering human and environmental health . The current study was conducted to evaluate the efficiency of the bioremediation process. Bacterial strains(Bacillus.coagulans,B.licheniformis,B.subtilis)from(B1-B7;B1-Bacilluscoagulans),(B2-B.licheniformis),(B3- B.subtilis),(B4-B.C+B.L), to (B5-B.L+B.S), (B6-B.S+B.C),(B7-B.C+B.L+B.S), fungal strains (Botrytis cinerea, Alternaria alternata, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Rhizopus stolonifer, Penicillium chrysogenum) Obtained from Tomato,yeast and bread ( F1- Tomato cultures),(F2-Bread cultures),(F3-yeast),( F4- comb of Tomato+bread),(F5- bread+ yeast),(F6- Yeast+Tomato),(F7- Bread, Tomato,yeast), plant extracts (soap nuts, moringa seeds, fenugreek) from( P1-P7 P1- Soap Nut Extract; P2- Fenugreek Extract; P3- Moringa Extract; P4- Soap Nuts + Moringa; P5-Fenugreek Extract + Moringa Extract; P6- Soap Nuts Extract + Fenugreek Extract; and P7- Fenugreek + Moringa Extract + Soap Nut Extract), and animal-derived substrates (cow dung, fish scales, eggshells)from(A1-A7,A1-cowdung,A2-eggshells,A3- fishscales,A4-CD+ES,A5-ES+FS,A6-FS+CD,A7-CD+FS+ES).Along with these we also used combinations of two , in which first one is (plant + animal derivatives) and the second is(Bacterial+fungi specifies)were used in the experiment to treat the soil contaminated by 20% Emulsifiable Concentrate (EC) chlorpyrifos pesticide. The effectiveness of treatment was investigated using chemicals such as copper sulphate (CuSo4) and sodium hydroxide (NaOH), microbe growth measurements, organoleptic evaluation (including changes in the colour and smell of treated soil), and pH measurement methods. Certain combinations such as (B5,F3, F4, F5, F7,P6,A1,A2)of factors have been shown to degrade pesticides in soils by up to 90%.

Keywords: Bioremediation; Organophosphate Pesticide; Cow dung; Soil microbial degradation; Pesticides Contaminated Soil.