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.
Increased demand for food due to population growth, together with a reduction in suitable arable land, has made pesticides essential for ensuring food security. They play a key role in both increasing agricultural yields ...
Agriculture
Sep 11, 2025
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32
A new study found evidence that commercial broccoli seeds can harbor a fungal seedborne pathogen, Alternaria brassicicola, with cross resistance to two commonly used fungicides.
Cell & Microbiology
Sep 4, 2025
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27
The use of pesticides in East Africa, some sold by European firms despite being banned in the EU, is killing off bees in large numbers and threatening whole ecosystems, scientists say.
Ecology
Aug 4, 2025
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44
Across North America, dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and other pesticides had a significant impact on bats from the 1940s through the '60s. Since the ban on DDT in 1972, bat populations had been slowly recovering, ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 23, 2025
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39
Scientists have detected pesticides in rivers, lakes and oceans worldwide. So what are these pesticides doing to the fish?
Ecology
Jul 15, 2025
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19
The environmental impact of nine pesticides, commonly used in grape cultivation, may have been significantly underestimated, suggesting current pesticide risk assessment criteria need updating.
Ecology
Jul 10, 2025
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42
Drones can now detect subtle soybean canopy damage from dicamba at one ten-thousandth of the herbicide's label rate—simulating vapor drift—eight days after application. This advancement in remote sensing from the University ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 7, 2025
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32
Water is essential at all stages of food production, from irrigation to food processing to washing fruit and vegetables before we eat them. Crops and livestock need it to grow, but water can also be contaminated by pathogens ...
Ecology
Jul 1, 2025
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18
A widely-used agricultural chemical sprayed on fruits and vegetables to prevent fungal disease is also killing beneficial insects that play a critical role in pollination and wider ecosystems.
Ecology
Jun 30, 2025
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473
Queensland scientists have pioneered a new method to assess the long-term risks posed by toxicants such as insecticides in rivers and the ocean.
Ecology
Jun 23, 2025
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15
