Chapter 7

Microbe-Assisted

Bioremediation of Pesticides

from Contaminated Habitats

Current Status and Prospects

Karen Reddy,¹ Shisy Jose,¹ Tufail Fayaz,²

Nirmal Renuka,^2,* Sachitra Kumar Ratha,³

Sheena Kumari¹ and Faizal Bux¹

7.1 Introduction

The rapid growth of the global pesticide market, driven by widespread use of pesticides in

agriculture and non-agriculture sectors, has led to the introduction of numerous pesticide residues

into the environment (Mali et al. 2022). Pesticides are recalcitrant and non-biodegradable, thus when

applied to farmlands, gardens and other vegetation, they often remain toxic for years (Gonçalves

and Delabona 2022). They are also carcinogenic in nature and are banned in many countries due to

the risk created by their presence in the environment (Singh et al. 2020). In addition to polluting soil

and crops, they also pose a threat to ground water and other aquatic environments (Castelo-Grande

et al. 2010, Lehmann et al. 2018). Most pesticides reach destinations other than their intended target,

even though each is designed to eliminate a specific pest (Huang et al. 2018, Mali et al. 2022).

Several technologies have been developed and applied to contaminated sites to eliminate

the adverse environmental effects of pesticides. These include, physical treatments (adsorption

and percolator filters) and chemical treatments (advanced oxidation) (Satish et al. 2017). Even

though these methods seem promising, they are not cost effective and have several disadvantages.

As a result, a strategic plan for reducing agrochemical use and implementing sustainable farming

practices is essential (Gupta et al. 2016, Sun et al. 2020, Avila et al. 2021).

One such avenue that has been explored is bioremediation and degradation combined with

microbes. It is a cost effective and environmentally friendly technology of soil and water reclamation

1 Institute for Water and Wastewater Technology, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa-4001.

2 Algal Biotechnology Laboratory, Department of Botany, Central University of Punjab, Bathinda, India-151401.

3 Phycology Laboratory, CSIR-National Botanical Research Institute, Lucknow, India-226001.

* Corresponding author: renuka.bot@gmail.com