Pesticide and herbicide contamination refers to the presence and persistence of synthetic or natural plant protection chemicals and their transformation products in environmental compartments such as soil, surface water, groundwater, sediments, air, and biota. Research on this topic examines sources (agricultural runoff, spray drift, leaching, improper disposal), transport and fate processes (sorption–desorption, volatilization, photolysis, hydrolysis, biodegradation), and bioaccumulation and biomagnification in food webs. It also encompasses mixture toxicity, sublethal and chronic effects on non-target organisms, development of resistance, and the use of monitoring, risk assessment frameworks, and remediation or mitigation strategies to manage and reduce ecological and human health risks.
An international team led by University of Alicante (UA) scientists has found that increasing the share of organic farming may improve crop yields and help maintain soil health and biodiversity. Published in the journal Nature ...
Agriculture
Mar 18, 2026
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17
Pesticides used in pet flea treatments occur widely in Welsh rivers and were detected in over three quarters of river water samples, finds new research by Cardiff University and Natural Resources Wales. The study found that ...
Environment
Mar 15, 2026
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18
When Vasilis Rodovitis rips open his brown paper bag in a sunny persimmon orchard just outside Naousa, in Greece, I half expect groceries to spill out. Instead, a barely there gray cloud emerges. For half a week, the bag ...
Ecology
Mar 5, 2026
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21
Pesticides can harm aquatic ecosystems and human health, so scientists need to understand how they move from farm fields into streams. A management tool commonly implemented is riparian buffers—strips of vegetation, like ...
Environment
Feb 24, 2026
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10
University of Queensland research has revealed that double-stranded RNA-based biopesticides (dsRNA) sprayed on plant leaves can travel right down into root systems. Led by Dr. Chris Brosnan at UQ's Queensland Alliance for ...
Biotechnology
Feb 17, 2026
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17
Almost half of the pesticides authorized for use on major agricultural crops in Latin America are banned or not approved in the European Union (EU) due to health and environmental risks, according to researchers.
Agriculture
Feb 10, 2026
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21
The application of modulated UV-C light to guavas—emitted in pulses or cycles rather than continuously—combated anthracnose. This fungal disease is caused by microorganisms belonging to the Colletotrichum gloeosporioides ...
Biotechnology
Feb 9, 2026
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18
At the 15th UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15) in Montreal, Canada, in 2022, nations committed to reducing the risks associated with pesticide use in agriculture by 50% by 2030. A new study by a research team from RPTUKaiserslautern-Landau, ...
Ecology
Feb 5, 2026
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36
Spotted lanternflies are adapting to the pressures of city life such as heat, pollution, and pesticides, according to genomic analyses of the invasive insects in the US and their native China. The findings, published in the ...
Evolution
Feb 4, 2026
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18
Environmental groups Thursday raised the alarm after finding toxic "pesticide cocktails" in apples sold across Europe, in a new study highlighting widespread contamination.
Agriculture
Jan 29, 2026
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