Chapter 3 - Nutrient depletion and pesticide use

Abstract

Unprecedented agricultural intensification and increased crop yield will be necessary to feed the burgeoning world population, whose global food demand is projected to double in the next 50 years. Although grain production has doubled in the past four decades, largely because of the widespread use of synthetic nitrogenous fertilizers, pesticides, and irrigation promoted by the ‘‘Green Revolution,’’ this rate of increased agricultural output is unsustainable because of declining crop yields and environmental impacts of modern agricultural practices. This chapter intends to deal about the effect of pesticide on the nutrient cycle and mineralization. Also, pesticide effect on soil and rhizosphere microflora population are discussed here. There are various factors that affect the impact of pesticide on microbial diversity, and some molecular techniques used in studying effect of pesticide on microbial diversity are presented here. At the end, some soil enzymes are discussed, which are responsible for degradation due to injudicious use of agrochemicals.