Reduced leaching of the herbicide MCPA after bioaugmentation with a formulated and stored Sphingobium sp.

The use of pesticides on sandy soils and on many non-agricultural areas entails a potentially high risk of water contamination. This study examined leaching of the herbicide 4-chloro-2-methylphenoxyacetic acid (MCPA) after bioaugmentation in sand with differently formulated and stored Sphingobium sp. T51 and at different soil moisture contents.

Effects of di- and polysaccharide formulations and storage conditions on survival of freeze-dried Sphingobium sp.

In this study we have compared the ability of the organic polymers Ficoll and hydroxyethylcellulose (HEC) and the disaccharides sucrose and trehalose to support cell survival during freeze-drying and subsequent storage of a gram-negative Sphingobium sp. In addition to determination of viability rates, cell integrity was evaluated using lipid peroxidation and RNA quality assays for the different storage conditions and formulation compositions. All formulations resulted in high initial cell survival rates after freeze-drying.

A new concept for reduction of diffuse contamination by simultaneous application of pesticide and pesticide-degrading microorganisms.

Pesticide residues and their transformation products are frequently found in groundwater and surface waters. This study examined whether adding pesticide-degrading microorganisms simultaneously with the pesticide at application could significantly reduce diffuse contamination from pesticide use. Degradation of the phenoxyacetic acid herbicides MCPA (4-chloro-2-methylphenoxyacetic acid) and 2,4-D (2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid) was studied in soil microcosm experiments after simultaneous spraying of herbicide and herbicide-degrading bacteria on an agricultural soil and on a sand with low degradation potential.