Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Pesticide Effects In A Simulated Soil Ecosystem, Raymond J. Samp

Masters Theses

The screening of pesticides to determine which were most inhibitory to bacteria was accomplished by testing the effects of 10 pesticides on 9 different organisms using the disk assay method. Results showed that Gram positive bacteria were more sensitive to all pesticides tested than were the Gram negative bacteria. In addition, the hormone herbicides were found to be the most inhibitory to these bacteria and 2,4-D (2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid), a hormone herbicide, was chosen for subsequent in vivo studies.

A soil perfusion apparatus was used to determine the effects of 2,4-D in a typical soil ecosystem. Bacterial plate counts and nutrient …