Influence of tebuconazole and copper hydroxide on phosphatase and urease activities in red sandy loam and black clay soils.

The efficacy of two selected fungicides i.e., tebuconazole and coppoer hydroxide, was conducted experiments in laboratory and copper hydroxide on the two specific enzymes phosphatase and urease were determined in two different soil samples (red sandy loam and black clay soils) of groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) from cultivated fields of Anantapuramu District, Andhra Pradesh. The activities of the selected soil enzymes were determined by incubating the selected fungicides-treated (1.0, 2.5, 5.0, 7.5 and 10.0 kg ha-1) and -untreated groundnut soil samples at 10 day intervals. By determining the effective concentration, the rate of selected enzyme activity was estimated by adding the suitable substrate at 10, 20, 30 and 40 days of soil incubation. Both the enzyme activities were increased up to 5.0 kg ha-1 level of fungicide in both soil samples significantly at 10 days of soil incubation and further enhanced up to 20 days of incubation. The activity of the phosphatase and urease decreased progressively at 30 and 40 days of incubation. From overall studies, higher concentrations (7.5 and 10.0 kg ha-1) of both tebuconazole and copper hydroxide were toxic to phosphatase and urease activities, respectively, in both soil samples.