Effects of Prochloraz fungicide on soil enzymatic activities and bacterial communities

We studied in the laboratory the effect of Prochloraz fungicide on the biological properties (soil enzymatic activities and soil bacterial communities) of a Plaggic Anthrosol. Five hundred grams of soil (<2 mm) was mixed with three dosages of Prochloraz (1, 2, and 41 ha(-1)) for 83 days. A non-Prochloraz polluted soil was used as control. Following commercial recommendations, fungicide was applied four times during the incubation experiment. For all treatments, the soil ergosterol and levels of dehydrogenase, urease, beta-glucosidase, and phosphatase activity were measured at nine different times (0, 1, 21, 22, 41, 42, 62, 63, and 83 days). The 16S rDNA-DGGE profiles in all treatments were determined at the beginning and end of the incubation period. At the end of the experiment, a significant decrease in ergosterol by 72.3%, 80.8%, and 83.1%, compared with control soil, was observed when 1, 2, and 41 ha-1, respectively, was added. Soil enzymatic activities increased when the Prochloraz applied to the soil increased, possibly because the fungicide is used by bacterial communities as a source of energy and nutrients. The 165 rDNA-DGGE profiles indicated that the fungicide did not negatively affect soil bacterial biodiversity. These results suggested that the fungicide Prochloraz has a very interesting agronomic effect, possibly due to the negative effect on soil fungal population stimulating the growth of soil bacterial activity. (C) 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.