Herbicides and nutrients interaction on earthworm activity in tomato cultivated soil and toxicity appraisal

Abstract

The tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) is the second most important vegetable grown in the world. In its cultivation, herbicides such as glyphosate, pendimethalin, and metribuzin are frequently used to control various weeds. On the other hand, fertilisers are widely used to promote the growth and production of tomatoes. Therefore, the simultaneous application of two major agro-inputs, namely pesticides and fertilisers, may have either antagonistic or synergistic interactions between them and accordingly affect the non-target organisms such as earthworms in the soil. Several reports have been published on the effects of herbicides on earthworm activity (Stepic et al. 2013) caused by single or sequential applications to field crops such as cereals, legumes, and oilseeds. However, the influence of different herbicides with different nutrient fertiliser application practices on earthworm activity in vegetable-cultivated soils is lacking or very little published.Earthworms are the most important organisms disturbed by agrochemicals, and these bioindicators help detect the toxic effects of various chemi-