Persistence and biodegradation of monocrotophos using soil microbes

The laboratory experiments were performed for determining the natural and induced degradation of organophosphate pesticide (monocrotophos (MCP)) in aqueous medium. The rate of degradation of MCP was analyzed by the determination of residual concentration using UV-Vis spectrophotometer and HPLC. The persistence experiment showed that MCP and its metabolites persist till 120d in aqueous medium. The degradation pathway has also been proposed on the basis of identification of formed metabolites by gas chromatography/mass spectrophotometry. For biodegradation studies, interesting micro-organisms which are capable of degrading MCP in aqueous stream were isolated from the different contaminated soils of Malwa region of Punjab, India. The isolated microbes were inoculated into minimal media with MCP for 17d. The result revealed that about 68% of MCP has been successfully degraded in 17d with isolated microbes and no metabolite has been observed during the biodegradation.