Impact of herbicides on biomolecular constituents of Eisenia fetida

Abstract

The present study of 60 days has been carried out to analyze the impact of herbicides viz. Sulfuron and Pinoxaden on the biochemical constituents of Eisenia fetida. For this, the earthworms were exposed to Sulfuron and Pinoxaden for sixty days and the earthworm samples from the herbicides treated substrate were collected on 1st, 30th and 60th day of experiment. Dose dependent biomolecular reduction has been observed in herbicide treated earthworms. The impact of herbicides on carbohydrates, lipid and protein contents were quite significant. The decrease in carbohydrates (60.68%), lipid (45.39%) and protein (19.00%) has been observed in earthworms exposed to Pinoxaden (3.0 ml/kg of soil) as compared to control. Pinoxaden induced more biochemical degradation in earthworms as compared to sulfuron.