Isolation, characterization and identification of pesticide degrading bacteria from contaminated soil for bioremediation.

In this study, malathion and chlorpyrifos degrading bacteria were isolated from agricultural soil samples taken from the Himachal region in India. A total of 52 organisms were isolated which were further screened for their efficiency for chlorpyrifos and malathion degradation. Screening was done by checking the growth on Nutrient Agar, Mineral Salt Medium and MacConkey agar plates containing chlorpyrifos and malathion; 37 isolates showed growth in these.