Interaction Effects of Insecticides on Microbial Populations and Dehydrogenase Activity in Groundnut (Arachis hypogeae l.) Planted Black Clay Soil

Study of the effect of pesticides on soil micro flora and their beneficial activities forms an important part of the pesticides risk assessment . The intensive use of these pesticides in agricultural soils, there may be an interaction with soil micro flora and their metabolic activities besides, controlling the different pest population (Baxter and Cummings, 2008). Therefore the behavior of the total micro flora and their biological activities under continuing pesticide input is an important aspect of research of the agricultural ecology (Li et al., 2008). Soil microbes are the driving force behind many soil processes, including the transformation of organic matter, nutrient release and degradation of xenobiotics (Zabaloy et al., 2008). Actinomycetes and fungi are important microbes for the degradation and utilization of a wide range of complex organic molecules (Lacey, 1983; Watson and Williams, 1974). Bacteria account for almost half of the soil microbial biomass (Alexander, 1997) and are responsible for further degradation. Microflora of soils are ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 4 Number 2 (2015) pp. 135-146 http://www.ijcmas.com