Comparative Toxicity Study of Chemical Pesticide and Biopesticide by Daphnia Bioassay
2021
Amrita I. Kakka, Mihir D. Herlekar and Shivani Awale
A comparative study was conducted to evaluate the toxicity of a biopesticide and a chemical pesticide using Daphnia magna as a model aquatic faunal species. The primary survey revealed that Neemark and Tafgor are being commonly used by the farmers. The acute toxicity tests were conducted on Daphnia magna for two series of concentration ranges 100 ppm to 1000 ppm and 1000 ppm to 4000 ppm. The (Lethal Concentration) LC50 values for series 1 of Neemark and Tafgor were 522.86 ppm and 439.46 ppm, respectively, whereas it was 1840.48 ppm and 1335.97 ppm, respectively for for Series 2. A significant difference in the mortality rates between Neemark and Tafgor in the concentration range of 1000 ppm to 4000 ppm was observed (t = 2.483, p < 0.05). A combination treatment of Neemark and Tafgor in different proportions showed that the 2:1 v/v (Neemark: Tafgor) ratio showed the lowest toxicity with a LC50 value of 1067.78 ppm, suggesting its preferability in application on the field. Two–way ANOVA shows that the concentration of pesticides plays a significant role in the mortality of Daphnia (F = 19.729, p < 0.05) and so does the combination ratio treatment (F = 7.166, p < 0.05). These results suggest that these two factors along with the selection of a suitable plant-based pesticide play a critical role in the reduction in mortality rates of aquatic organisms.
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