Study on the Effect of Xenobiotic (Agro Chemicals) on the Activity of Soil Enzymes

A pot culture experiment was carried out in the Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, College of Agriculture, Vellayani during 2000 to study the effect of xenobiotics (agrochemicals ) on enzyme activities. The enzymes selected were urease, phosphates, protease, dehydrogenase and cellulase. Thirteen chemicals viz., phorate, carbofuran, quinalphos, monocrotophos, chlorpyriphos, hinosan, bavistin, streptocyline, benthiocarb,2,4–D, butachlor, oxyflourfen were used for the study which can be categorized as insecticide, fungicide, antibiotic and herbicide. The experiment was carried out using rice (var. Kanchana) as a test crop. The results revealed that the antibiotics impart maximum inhibition on the enzyme activities followed by fungicides, insecticides and herbicides.