Effect of Glucose on Proliferation of PCP (Pentachlorophenol)-Degrading Microorganisms in Soil

Abstract Although it was prohibited to apply the pesticide pentachlorophenol (PCP) in rice fields in Japan after the 1970s, it is still used as a fungicide for upland crops or timber. In many cases the pesticide incorporated into soil is subjected to microbial degradation in soil as reported by many authors (Watanabe and Hayashi 1972; Kuwatsuka and Igarashi 1975; Watanabe 1977). The PCP-degrading microorganisms so far isolated are common ones which are not nutritionally fastidious (Watanabe 1973; Suzuki 1983a, b). It is, therefore, plausible that the PCP-degradability of the microorganisms is influenced by the presence of some nutrients because in general, the microorganisms may prefer to use the nutrients rather than the pesticides which are biostatic or biocidal to the microorganisms.