The Investigation of the Cytotoxic Effects of Some Pesticides on Soybean (Glycine max L.)

Abstract

In this study, the effects of the fungicide Pomarsol Forte WP 80, the insecticide Arrivo 25 EC and the herbicide The End EC were examined for seed germination percentages, the phases of mitosis and chromosomal abnormalities in soybean (Glycine max L.). Median EC (effective concentration) values were calculated according to relative reduction in root length (T/C%) after treatment for 72 h. Germination percentages of primary soybean roots decreased with increasing pesticide concentrations. Cytological observations showed that the mitotic frequency in root meristematic cells was decreased and that abnormality frequency was also decreased in parallel to the increase in concentrations for all pesticides, except for the 9.6 M concentration of Arrivo 25 EC. The obtained results indicate that these 3 pesticides had the ability to cause a reduction in the seed germination percentage in the number of different phases of mitosis and in the leaf pigment content of soybean (G. max L.).