pesticide-impact
Pesticide impact research examines how chemical agents used to protect crops from pests, diseases, and weeds affect plant physiology, growth, and cellular processes. Understanding these effects is critical for plant scientists to distinguish between intended protective outcomes and unintended phytotoxic consequences that can impair photosynthesis, root development, or reproductive success. This field informs the development of safer agrochemicals and application strategies that maintain crop health while minimizing disruption to plant biology.
PubMed · 2026-04-07
Common farming inputs — dairy manure, weed killer (glyphosate), copper, the antibiotic streptomycin, and a fungicide — each shift which antibiotic-resistant bacteria and resistance genes dominate the soil of tomato fields, with some combinations making the problem worse.
All five tested inputs — dairy manure, glyphosate, copper, streptomycin, and propiconazole (a fungicide) — measurably altered the composition of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and resistance genes in tomato field soil.
The study tracked resistance at two levels simultaneously: which bacteria could survive antibiotics (culturable resistant bacteria) and which resistance genes were present in the soil, revealing that gene-level changes did not always mirror bacterial-level changes.
Streptomycin, an antibiotic commonly sprayed on fruit crops to control bacterial diseases, was among the agrochemicals linked to shifts in soil antimicrobial resistance gene profiles, highlighting direct antibiotic use in agriculture as a key driver.
