Chapter 3 Agrochemicals and their effects on soil microbial population
Parul Chaudhary, Shivani Singh, Anuj Chaudhary, Upasana Agri, Geeta Bhandari
Abstract
Recently, the agriculture system depends on the usage of agrochemicals, which enhance the crop productivity by providing nutrition to plants to meet the global food requirements. A prolonged extensive use of agrochemicals is a principal source of contamination, which persists and biomagnifies in nature and affects the soil characteristics and sustainability. Soil microbes are key components of the agricultural ecosystem to improve crop productivity, and their actions are crucial for maintaining the fertility and health of the soil. Agrochemicals directly or indirectly lead to a shift in the diversity, richness, and evenness of nontargeted beneficial microorganism which orderly decreases the availability of plant nutrition and increases the fate of disease in crops. This chapter focusses on agrochemicals, their classification, and their impact on the soil microflora, especially bacterial and fungal population of cultivated soils.