Biodegradation Aspects of Carbendazim and Sulfosulfuron: Trends, Scope and Relevance

A large amount of pesticides are being used now-a-days in crop protection which has resulted in buildup of such harmful compounds in the environment, proving a menace to humans, animal life as well as to soil microbes. Residues of these pesticides have been reported in soil, water and foods. Carbendazim and sulfosulfuron are among the most widely used pesticides for treating fungal diseases and unwanted herbs in crops respectively. Carbendazim is a benzimidazole fungicide which can harm liver as well as the endocrine system and suspected to have mutagenic and tumorigenic effects. On similar lines sulfosulfuron, a sulfonylurea herbicide may result in the development of resistant herbs displaying its carry-over effects to the next crop cultivated. These pesticides possess large half-lives and thus remain persistent in the environment which may lead to harmful consequences in near future. Besides chemical and photo-catalytic degradation of pesticides, microbial degradation has now been evolved as a much effective and safer way to eradicate these harmful compounds from the environment. However a limited literature is available on the microbial degradation of such compounds. The present review emphasizes mainly upon the chemical properties of Carbendazim and Sulfosulfuron, detection of their residues, harmful effects and insights into their degradation studies. Further, the use of efficient microbes for remediation of pesticides from the environment has been discussed.