Abiotic and Biotic Processes Governing the Fate of Phenylurea Herbicides in Soils: A Review

Phenylurea herbicides are world widely used for controlling the development of various broad leaf weeds in cereal crops. Despite their agronomic interest, these herbicides are of environmental concern because they are often detected at concentrations above the threshold concentration imposed by legislation in soil and water worldwide. Understanding the fate of these pollutants is as such of major importance and has been the subject of many scientific studies in the last decades. This review article presents an overview of the abiotic and biotic processes governing the environmental fate of phenylurea herbicides after their application to agricultural fields. More precisely, it highlights the pivotal role of biodegradation in natural attenuation of pesticides in agricultural soils. The recent advances in the microbial aspects of their degradation in the field as well as in pure cultures are presented including metabolic pathways, processes, and factors that control the biodegradation of phenylurea herbicides.