The effect of pesticides on soil biogenicity

This article presents the results of a study of the effect of pesticides on the biogenicity of gray-earth soils of the dry subtropics of Azerbaijan. The soils were examined from the location of the pesticide storage base in the Zardob area. It was revealed that in this territory about 12 thousand cubic meters of soil are polluted to a very strong degree and the content of pesticides (including DDT) exceeded the MPC by tens to hundreds of times. Microbiological studies of soil samples showed that, unlike the background clean soil, soil biogenicity was suppressed in all soil samples contaminated with pesticides, and this indicates a negative impact of soil contamination with pesticides on the structure and activity of microbiocenosis, which was confirmed by a high degree of phytotoxicity of these samples. All this indicates a very limited assimilation potential and a low ability of these soils to self-purify from organic pollutants. The results obtained can be used in the zoning of the soil cover of the country according to the rate of self-purification from pesticides, their assimilation capacity.