Role of Organic Soil Amendments in Controlling Ground Water Pollution Due to Pesticides
In soil, pesticide residues are subjected to various transformations and transportation processes. Leaching is one of the major transportation processes responsible for ground water contamination. Organic amendments used in agriculture are known to improve the physico-chemical properties of soil at low cost and are regarded as one of the most suitable technologies for sustainable agriculture. These amendments play an important role in the retention of pesticides because of increased adsorption of these chemicals on soil. Sorption of pesticides which are weak acids or bases, is influenced by soil pH because they assume a positive or negative charge, or no charge depending on the pH. Leaching of such pesticides to ground water can be prevented to a great extent by mixing of organic amendments to soil because they enhance the ability of pesticide retention on soil and or promote their microbial degradation as well during in situ decomposition of organic amendments in soil.