Bacteria developed to fight endosulfan effect

BANGALORE: Endosulfan, the pesticide banned in Kerala in 2002, remains in use in other parts of the country, specially on the cash crop plantations of cashew and tea, putting thousands of people at risk.
Delhi-based The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), in a breakthrough research project with four other organisations in India and Switzerland, has come up with a non-pathogenic pesticide-munching bacteria in the form of a powder that can biodegrade endosulfan.
"The third stage (field trials) of the powder will start from April 4, 2004 at Tata Tea Research Centre at Jorhat and Kerala. The final product will be released by August 2004," Dr Banwari Lal of TERI''s microbial biotechnology unit, who heads this project, told The Times of India.
The experiment began three years ago to identify pesticides that accumulate in the soil and contaminate groundwater and find naturally occurring bacterial strains that can decontaminate water and soil.
Endosulfan was one of the pesticides they zeroed in on.
"Farmers can apply pesticide degrading microbes (powder form) before sowing seeds for the next crop, in case of cereals. Tea and cashewnut plants being perennial, the powder can be sprayed anytime on pesticide-contaminated soil. Many export consignments of tea from India have been rejected due to high residue levels of endosulfan in tea leaves," explains Dr Lal.
Extensive use of chemical pesticides to keep crop healthy has led to the contamination of soil, crops and the resulting food products and drinks.
Water used for agriculture gets contaminated with chemical fertilisers and pesticides. This leads to contamination of groundwater. Surface run-offs from contaminated agricultural land further taint the rivers and other water bodies.
"Pesticide residues accumulate in agricultural land and can remain active for up to 30-50 years, affecting crops grown on that land," say TERI scientists.
Endosulfan takes around 30 years to degrade on its own. But with the bacterial powder, it can be degraded in three months, says Dr Lal.
"The pesticide degrading microbial strain selected in our lab is a naturally occurring bacteria. This bacterial strain is not listed in hazardous microbes (by ministry of environment and forest), and is therefore not harmful. It will, however be tested at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) New Delhi," he says, dismissing doubts of safety of the product for humans.
Delhi University and Institute of Microbial Technology, Chandigarh have been TERI''s partners in India. The Swiss government and the Indian government''s department of biotechnology launched the project and sponsored it.
TERI is planning a technology transfer to industry after testing the product. The powder will be a boon to vegetable farmers, and tea and cashew estate owners, who otherwise have to replace the top-soil to reduce effects of pesticides.