Effects of pesticides on earthworm as an ecosystem provider
2025
Soda Baga, Linda | Ofurum Arimoro, Francis
Pesticides, which are typically harmful to non-target soil organisms, particularly earthworms, which are essential for assessing soil fertility, are used extensively in agricultural expansion to solve the issue of food security for the growing population. Agrochemicals used carelessly can cause poor survival rates, lower growth and reproduction rates, disrupt enzymatic activity, damage some tissues and ultimately a decrease in the overall biomass of earthworms yet very little is now known about the harmful effects of pesticides on these earthworms. Earthworms can come into contact with these pesticides through their skin or by feeding on contaminated soil litter. These toxins mostly go through the skin and the body wall of earthworms. Even according to agricultural recommendations for dosage and rate of application, insecticides such as Pyrethroid, Neonicotinoids and Organophosphates are extremely toxic to earthworms. The data that is currently available on how pesticides affect various earthworm species suggests that the pesticides caused changes in the way certain important enzymes functioned. These enzymes may be useful markers of the toxicity of pesticides to earthworms. Pesticides have a harmful impact on earthworm survival and weight gain, according to studies on growth and survival metrics. This results in decreased biomass production, cocoon creation, and post-hatching development of young individuals. As the concentration of pesticides increases, the biomass of earthworms decreases. Proven that pesticides may drastically lower the earthworm population in soil, this information provided may assist farmers and policymakers in developing and implementing improved farming techniques that minimize excessive pesticide contamination of the soil.
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