ASSESSMENT OF THE EFFECTS OF HERBICIDE (GLYPHOSATE) APPLICATION ON POPULATION OF FARM SOIL BACTERIA

One of the most effective ways of increasing food production includes herbicides application to destroy weeds on farmlands. Annually, tones of herbicides are been applied to control harmful effects caused by weeds. Research has shown that sometimes, it is only about 5% of these chemicals reach the target weeds. Most of these herbicides affects the non-target parts of the agricultural ecosystem resulting in the destruction of bacterial population, which is contrary to the aim at which they are applied. Hence, careful attention is needed when dealing with herbicides on farmlands. In this work, research was conducted to determine the effects of glyphosate herbicide application on farm soil bacterial population at different application rates. Soil samples were collected at the depth of 0-15cm from Damaturu farm lands with the aid of Auger, the soils were placed in plastic pots measuring 18.3cm wide and 16 cm height. After three weeks of application, microbiological analyses were conducted using nutrient agar media for the growth and identification of bacteria. The results reveal that herbicide applications caused drastic reduction in bacterial population present in the soil when compared with the control. These findings showed that glyphosate application to kill weeds, have detrimental effects on bacteria in soil especially Rhizobium which is known to improve soil fertility by its nitrogen fixing abilities.