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The ubiquitous presence of contaminants like pesticides in the various environmental matrices has become a concern for environmental sustainability and global stability. Pesticides are a distinctive class of environmental contaminants that are specifically introduced into the environment to kill or inhibit pests attacking the different crops. Although pesticide application is beneficial to crop production by serving several significant purposes, like protection against vector-borne diseases and crop loss, there are substantial concerns as they have a persistent nature and can possess serious consequences because of harmful effects to non-targeted beings comprising humans also. Pesticide consumption has reached 4.1 million tonnes/year in 2017 almost 81% from 1990. Recent data suggest pesticides account for 14–20% of global suicides from 2006 to 2015 resulting in 111,000–168,000 deaths annually from 2010 to 2014. About 14 million people have died from suicide by consuming pesticides since the beginning of the Green revolution. About 1 million accidental pesticide poisoning occur each year causing 20,000 fatalities approximately. For this reason, the occurrence of pesticides in different mediums like crop, air, water resources, fruits and vegetables, soil, plants, birds, animal products, and human beings was reviewed. This paper presents an overview of pesticides occurrence, distribution, extraction method, analytical techniques for their detection. This review will assist policymakers to enforce guidelines to restrict the redundant use of pesticides.

The cruciferous vegetables are richest sources of isothiocyanates and among them, allyl isothiocyanate (AITC) is one of the major constituents. It has been known to possess various activities of therapeutic interest. Keeping this in view, the present study was planned to investigate antioxidant capacity of AITC using Cupric Reducing Antioxidant Capacity (CUPRAC) Assay, 2, 2'-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid (ABTS) assay, β-Carotene bleaching (BCB) assay and superoxide anion scavenging assay. The antimutagenic potency of AITC was determined by modifying Vibrio harveyi bioluminescence assay against direct acting mutagen 4-nitro-o-phenylenediamine (NPD) and indirect acting mutagens 2-acetylaminofluorene (2-AAF), 7,12-Dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA) in presence and absence of S9. Furthermore, the antihemolytic activity was evaluated using hemolysis assay. Among the different activities carried out, it was observed that AITC exhibited efficient antimutagenic potential against direct acting mutagen NPD and indirect acting mutagens 2-AAF and DMBA in the presence as well as absence of S9 fraction in Vibrio harveyi bioluminescence assay. Overall, our results established the efficiency of AITC to act as strong antimutagenic agent, efficient anti-hemolytic agent and mild antioxidant agent thus, making AITC an interesting candidate to be further explored for drug discovery.

Phthalates are endocrine disruptors, reported to cause deformities and reproductive damages in animals. Numerous studies reported the presence of phthalates in water samples of rivers, wetlands, and estuaries, while the scenario in case of ponds is different, however they are reported as an integral part of biosphere. In this study, the level of phthalates’ contamination in the water samples collected from the different ponds of Amritsar district for four consecutive seasons in two years was analysed. The maximal level of phthalate contamination was found in samples collected during the monsoon season (July 2015) of first year of sampling followed by post-monsoon (October 2015) and winter season (January 2016). S8 sampling site was found to be the most phthalate contaminated site followed by S1=S11>S2=S9=S4=S5=S7>S6=S3>S10. Benzyl butyl phthalate was most abundant (found in 32% water samples) followed by di-n-butyl and dimethyl phthalate, while diallyl phthalate and diethyl phthalate were not detected. The two main drivers for these seasonal variations were observed to be temperature and precipitation. Hence, this data will be useful to explain the temporal and spatial distributions of phthalates in aquatic ecosystem, as well as to devise cost-effective ways to reduce their ecological footprints.

The present study examined the interactive effects of fluoride and phthalates on their uptake, generation of reactive oxygen species and activation of antioxidative defence responses in Spirodela polyrhiza L. Schleiden. A hydroponic study was conducted in which S. polyrhiza cultured in Hoagland’s nutrient medium, was exposed to fluoride (50 ppm) and different concentrations viz., 75, 150 300 ppm of diethyl phthalate (DEP) and diallyl phthalate (DAP) individually as well as in combination for the time period of 24, 72, 120 and 168 h respectively. A significant decline in fresh weight, dry to fresh weight ratio, total chlorophyll, carotenoid content and increased anthocyanin content was observed. Fluoride and phthalates was found to be readily accumulated by S. polyrhiza in all the exposure periods. Interestingly, when binary treatments were given in nutrient medium, uptake of both fluoride and phthalate was found to be influenced by each other. In combined treatments, DEP stimulated fluoride uptake, while its own uptake was restricted by fluoride. In contrary to this, fluoride stimulated DAP uptake. Moreover, combined stress further caused significant decrement in carbohydrate, protein content and increment in MDA levels, phenolic content and electrolyte leakage. Nevertheless, phthalates showed more pronounced oxidative stress and growth inhibition compared to fluoride. To cope up with the oxidative damage, enhanced level of antioxidant enzymatic activities was observed in S. polyrhiza under both fluoride and phthalate stress as compared to control. Scanning electron microscope imaging of leaf stomata revealed that combined stress of fluoride with phthalates caused distortion in the shape of guard cells. Confocal micrographs confirmed the generation of reactive oxygen species, cell damage, disruption in membrane integrity, and enhanced levels of glutathione in plant cells. This study focussed on ecotoxicological and interactive significance of fluoride led phthalate uptake or vice versa which was also assumed to confer tolerance attributes.

Microplastics (MPs) are ubiquitous and constitute a global hazard to the environment because of their robustness, resilience, and long-term presence in the ecosystem. For now, the majority of research has primarily focused on marine and freshwater ecosystems, with just a small amount of attention towards the terrestrial ecosystems. Although terrestrial ecosystems are recognized as the origins and routes for MPs to reach the sea, there is a paucity of knowledge about these ecological compartments, which is necessary for conducting effective ecological risk assessments. Moreover, because of their high persistence and widespread usage in agriculture, agribusiness, and allied sectors, the presence of MPs in arable soils is undoubtedly an undeniable and severe concern. Consequently, in the recent decade, the potential risk of MPs in food production, as well as their impact on plant growth and development, has received a great deal of interest. Thus, a thorough understanding of the fate and risks MPs, as well as prospective removal procedures for safe and viable agricultural operations in real-world circumstances, are urgently needed. Therefore, the current review is proposed to highlight the potential sources and interactions of MPs with agroecosystems and plants, along with their remediation strategies.

Heavy metals are known for their toxicity which poses risk to human health even at very low levels. In the present work, groundwater from 24 different sites of Malwa region were analyzed for heavy metal contents (Cadmium, Chromium, Copper, Mercury, Manganese, Lead, and Zinc) and possible health risks along with ecotoxicological impact of contaminated groundwater using stress biomarkers in Brassica juncea seedlings. Mean concentrations of Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Mn, Pb, and Zn (µg/l) in groundwater samples was found to be 1.00, 6.16, 70.40, 0.27, 709.23, 59.38, and 368.15, respectively, during summer and 0.69, 4.03, 53.75, 1.21, 98.21, 69.58, and 254.92, respectively, during winter season. The concentrations of detected metals were above the acceptable groundwater standard limits for Mn, Hg and Pb. The average daily dose (ADD) and hazard quotient (HQ) values for Cu and Pb were above the threshold values at Bathinda during both the seasons. The results of phytotoxicity indicated that the groundwater affected the antioxidant enzymes and the biochemical parameters such as malondialdehyde (MDA), protein and chlorophyll content in Brassica juncea. Our findings suggested that the groundwater is significantly contaminated with heavy metals and its long-term use for drinking purpose without any pre-treatment may cause severe health risks in humans and irrigation of agricultural fields also results in their bioaccumulations in food crops.

Graphical abstract, India is one of the leading suppliers of agrochemicals and has the largest pesticide industry in Asia. Among various Indian states, Punjab is the primary user of pesticides. Presence of pesticide residue in water and food products of Punjab is well documented. The present study was designed to envisage the level of pesticide contamination in pond water of eleven villages of Amritsar district of Punjab, India. A rapid and concurrent method for the identification and quantification of pesticides in water samples was developed and validated. The method validation parameters exhibited high sensitivity of the developed method and the proficiency for the identification and quantification of pesticide residues in water samples. The RP-HPLC method described here • is a novel method which is applicable for simple, rapid and precise detection of pesticides. • 40.02% of water samples were found contaminated with multi-residue pesticides. • carbofuran was the most abundant pesticide which was present in 18.18% samples.

A field experiment was conducted during the winter seasons of 2007-08 to 2009-10 at Jobner, India on loamy sand soil to evaluate the effect of integrated nutrient management on growth, productivity and economics of fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum). The experiment consisted of fourteen combinations of integrated nutrient management practices for application of recommended dose of nitrogen (RDN) to fenugreek i.e., 40 kg/ha, through different sources, viz., control, inorganic or organic [farmyard manure (FYM), poultry manure (PM), vermicompost (VC) and neem cake (NC)] alone or in combinations was laid out in randomized block design with three replications. Based on three years of study the results revealed that application of all nutrient management treatments through organic and inorganic sources alone or in combination brought significant effect on growth, yield and economics of fenugreek. Further the results revealed that integration of 50% RDN through vermicompost (VC) + 50% RDN through inorganic source to fenugreek recorded higher plant height, branches/plant, pods/plant, seeds/pod, test weight, seed yield (1781 kg/ha), stover yield (3392 kg/ha), biological yield (5173 kg/ha) and net returns (Rs. 52151/ha). However, maximum benefit cost ratio was fetched with application of 100% RDN through inorganic source.

Forty two genotypes of fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.) were evaluated in normal (full irrigations) and water stress (restricted irrigations) environments for three years. The genotypic expression was influenced by the environments significantly for five morphological characters and seed yield. Simple correlations have indicated that pods per plant as the main yield component. Stability analysis indicated that high yielders in general had high ‘b’ values indicating their adaptability to normal environments and vice versa. UM-13 followed by UM-15 showed absolute stability for seed yield. AMMI analysis and GGE biplot revealed good correspondence between the spread of genotypes and environments for pods per plant and seed yield. The biplot analysis showed that RMt 1 was found to be suited to water stress conditions over the years while UM- 29 and UM-24 were the most desirable ones with high yield over all the environments.