ABSTRACT
The continuous over utilization of increasing pesticides and the related pollution in the soil has become a severe threat and challenge to the environment. The pesticide-based soil pollution has imposed adverse effects on soil fertility and ultimate toxicity in living organisms through the process of bio-magnification. Physio-chemical methods used for pesticide degradation have proven inefficient ecologically as well as economically. Microbial degradation is currently one of the most accepted routes for the remediation of pesticides. The catabolic processes used by microbes to pass down these chemicals as a source of carbon, sulfur, and phosphorus has been proven beneficial for the degradation and detoxification of pesticides, including widely used chlorinated pesticides and organophosphorus. The bioavailability of microorganisms as well as a wide range of environmental parameters plays a key role in this process. The current chapter addresses various strategies employed for the microbe-mediated biodegradation of pesticides with an exclusive focus on sustainable pesticide remediation without disturbing agro-ecosystem.
