Herbicide Residues in Agroecosystems: Fate, Detection, and Effect on Non-Target Plants

Abstract

Environmental pollution is one of the most critical issues concerning the quality of the environment and threatens the human safety due to bioaccumulation. The extensive application of pesticides causes great public concern about the negative impacts on the environment and human health. Herbicides have been used for weed management and to prevent the yield loss of agricultural products. In recent years, the environment’s quality is extensively considered due to the enormous pesticide application in agroecosystems. There are some different pathways for the degradation of herbicides in the environment, including biodegradation, chemical degradation, photodegradation, uptake by target or non-target plants, adsorption to soil particles and leaching. Assessing the environmental risks of herbicides before mass production, commercialization, and distribution is very important. The presence of herbicide residues in the environment has become a fundamental problem in many countries. Bioassay and analytical methods could identify, detect, and quantify herbicide residues in the environment. In this review paper, the fate, detection methods, and effect of herbicides on non-target plants have been discussed.