ABSTRACT
Modern agriculture has conventionally encouraged application of a wide range of synthetic agrochemicals to ensure high food production. Pesticides have been used consistently to minimize pest attacks in agriculture and as a consequence, there has been large scale soil contamination due to accumulation of residue. Soil contamination has threatened the very survival of a large group of useful non-target organisms which play pivotal role in the process of pedogenesis and maintaining soil quality. Therefore, detoxification of contaminated soil has become a priority. The high cost of the physical and chemical methods for detoxification have necessitated the development of various bioremediation techniques for removal of the soil contaminants in an effective and ecofriendly manner. Diverse strains of bacteria and fungi along with suitable species of plants and animals have been used successfully as remediating agents for degradation or removal of xenobiotics. The recent advancement in science and technology could help in producing genetically modified organisms with significantly higher efficiency of remediation for a faster and sustainable decontamination of soil.
