Bioremediation in agriculture: dream or reality?

The development of modern agriculture has made it possible to increase the supply of food to growing populations all over the world. However, this development has been accompanied by an intensive pollution of the environment, in a way and to an extent similar to the effect of the earlier industrialization process on the environment. Pollutants in agriculture can be divided into four main groups: fertilizers; animal waste; fossil fuel and its combustion products; and pesticides. Whereas fertilizers and waste are subjected to the common recycling processes constantly operating in nature, fuel and pesticide pollution comprise long-term, often persistent problems, due to their xenobiosis, recalcitrance and potential toxicity. Removal and/or detoxification of pollutants can be done by physical, chemical, or biological means, the latter being of special interest because of its low cost, and its low adverse effect on the environment. The biological approach of remediating the environment, termed bioremediation, is defined by Atlas and Pramer (1990) as ‘the use of biological agents to reclaim soils and waters polluted by substances hazardous to human health and/or the environment’.