Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Does Microplastic Contamination in Agricultural Soils Decrease the Efficiency of Herbicides for Weed Control?

Researchers investigated how microplastic contamination in agricultural soils affects herbicide performance. They found that microplastics absorb herbicides onto their surfaces, reducing the chemicals' availability for weed control and slowing their degradation by inhibiting soil microbial activity. The study suggests that microplastic pollution in farmland may undermine herbicide efficacy while increasing the persistence of these chemicals in the environment.

2024 Microplastics 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Insight into the effect of microplastics on the adsorption and degradation behavior of thiamethoxam in agricultural soils

Researchers found that microplastics in agricultural soil alter both the adsorption and degradation behavior of the pesticide thiamethoxam, with different plastic types showing varying effects on how the pesticide binds to soil and breaks down over time.

2023 Chemosphere 49 citations
Article Tier 2

Effect of Microplastic Coexistence Conditions on the Environmental Behavior of Atrazine on Soil

Researchers investigated the effect of polyethylene microplastic presence on the environmental behavior of the herbicide atrazine in black and black calcium soils, finding that microplastics increased atrazine adsorption by up to 1.21-fold and that Freundlich isotherms best described the adsorption dynamics.

2023 Applied Ecology and Environmental Research 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Atrazine sorption on biodegradable microplastics: Significance of microbial aging

Researchers found that soil microbial aging of biodegradable microplastics — polylactic acid (PLA) and PBAT — significantly alters their surface properties and increases their capacity to adsorb the herbicide atrazine, suggesting that biodegradable plastics may pose underappreciated pollutant-transport risks as they break down.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 32 citations
Article Tier 2

Influence on the processes of retention and transport of pesticides and ecotoxicity of microplastics in a tropical soil

Researchers investigated how high-density polyethylene microplastics from agricultural mulch films affect the behavior of three pesticides in tropical soil, finding that microplastics altered pesticide sorption, transport, and leaching while also increasing ecotoxicological effects on earthworms.

2023 Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (Universidade de São Paulo)
Article Tier 2

Interaction of Microplastics with Emerging Organic Pollutants: A Study on Atrazine Adsorption and Phytotoxicity

Researchers studied how aged and pristine polyethylene microplastics adsorb the herbicide atrazine and whether this combination affects plant seed germination. Aged microplastics absorbed significantly more atrazine than new ones due to surface changes from UV exposure, and the atrazine-loaded aged particles inhibited lettuce germination by up to 34%. The findings suggest that weathered microplastics in agricultural environments may amplify the harmful effects of pesticide contamination.

2025 Toxics 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Simazine degradation in agroecosystems: Will it be affected by the type and amount of microplastic pollution?

Researchers investigated for the first time how the type and amount of microplastic pollution affects simazine herbicide degradation in agroecosystems, exploring the poorly understood synergistic interactions between plastic and pesticide contaminants in soil.

2022 Land Degradation and Development 32 citations
Article Tier 2

Adsorption behavior and mechanism of different types of (aged) microplastics for napropamide in soils

Researchers studied how different types of microplastics, both conventional and biodegradable, affect the soil absorption of the herbicide napropamide. They found that aged microplastics had significantly different adsorption properties than new ones, and that the presence of microplastics generally altered how the herbicide behaved in soil. The findings suggest that microplastic pollution may change how agricultural chemicals move through and persist in farmland.

2024 Chemosphere 4 citations
Article Tier 2

How does soil contamination by microplastics interferes the sorption and desorption processes of three herbicides?

Researchers tested how varying proportions of polyethylene microplastics (0-100% by weight) affected the sorption and desorption of three herbicides (hexazinone, diuron, S-metolachlor) in soil. Microplastic presence significantly altered sorption behavior for S-metolachlor, with effects depending on microplastic concentration and herbicide chemical structure.

2025 Chemosphere 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Coexistence of microplastics and Foramsulfuron in soil: effects on herbicide persistence and soil functionality

Researchers examined how microplastics affect the persistence and behavior of the herbicide Foramsulfuron in agricultural soils. They found that microplastics prolonged the herbicide's half-life by 17-21%, meaning the chemical persisted longer in the soil, while digestate amendment helped accelerate its breakdown. The study suggests that microplastic contamination in agricultural soils could alter how pesticides behave, potentially extending their environmental impact.

2026
Article Tier 2

Effects of Microplastics on Bioavailability, Persistence and Toxicity of Plant Pesticides: An Agricultural Perspective

This review examines how microplastics in soil interact with pesticides, generally reducing pesticide effectiveness by absorbing the chemicals onto their surfaces. While this lowers the immediate toxicity of pesticides, it also makes them last longer in the environment and may reduce pest control in agriculture, potentially affecting food production and the long-term safety of the food supply.

2025 Agriculture 19 citations
Article Tier 2

Review and analysis of atrazine adsorption on different microplastics in aqueous solution.

This review analyzed atrazine adsorption onto different microplastic types in aqueous solution, examining how varying environmental conditions and physicochemical properties of PE and other MP matrices govern the sorption and transport of this ubiquitous herbicide when MPs serve as contaminant vectors in aquatic systems.

2024
Article Tier 2

Influence of microplastic addition on glyphosate decay and soil microbial activities in Chinese loess soil

Adding polyethylene microplastics to soil influenced the degradation of the herbicide glyphosate and altered microbial activity, with effects depending on the concentration of both microplastics and glyphosate. The findings suggest that microplastic contamination in agricultural soils could affect how long pesticides persist and how soil microbes function.

2018 Environmental Pollution 222 citations
Article Tier 2

Influência nos processos de retenção e transporte de pesticidas e ecotoxicidade de microplásticos em solo tropical

Researchers investigated how high-density polyethylene microplastics from agricultural mulch films influence the retention and transport of pesticides in tropical soil, finding that microplastics alter pesticide dynamics and may increase their environmental persistence and ecotoxicity.

2023
Article Tier 2

Interactions of Microplastics with Pesticides in Soils and Their Ecotoxicological Implications

This review examines how microplastics interact with pesticides in soil environments, finding that microplastics can sorb and transport pesticides, potentially altering their bioavailability and toxicity to soil organisms and ecosystems.

2023 Agronomy 58 citations
Article Tier 2

Effect of PVC microplastics on pesticide sorption behavior in soil: Key roles of particle size and aging

Researchers studied how PVC microplastics of different sizes and aging states affect pesticide behavior in agricultural soil. They found that smaller and aged microplastics significantly enhanced pesticide adsorption and made it harder to release back into the soil, primarily through hydrogen bonding mechanisms. The study highlights the need to account for microplastic contamination when assessing how pesticides move through and persist in agricultural soils.

2025 The Science of The Total Environment 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Impact of microalgal biomass and microplastics on the sorption behaviour of pesticides in soil: a comparative study

Researchers examined how microalgal biomass interacts with microplastics to influence pesticide sorption behavior, finding that algal exudates coating MP surfaces altered their affinity for pesticides and affected the overall fate of pesticide-MP complexes in water.

2025 Environmental Sciences Europe 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Behavior and mechanism of atrazine adsorption on pristine and aged microplastics in the aquatic environment: Kinetic and thermodynamic studies

Researchers systematically explored how the pesticide atrazine adsorbs onto both pristine and aged microplastics in aquatic environments. The study found that aged microplastics had higher adsorption capacities than pristine ones, with the aging process and pH significantly affecting surface charge and adsorption behavior, suggesting that weathered microplastics may carry greater loads of chemical contaminants.

2021 Chemosphere 98 citations
Article Tier 2

Aged polyethylene microplastics modulate herbicide and antibiotic bioavailability and plant responses: A case study with glyphosate and tetracycline

Scientists found that tiny plastic particles commonly found in farm soil can stick to plant roots and change how plants absorb harmful chemicals like pesticides and antibiotics. The plastic pieces made plants more stressed and damaged, reducing important nutrients like chlorophyll by 30%. This matters because it could affect the safety and quality of the food we eat, since these plastic particles are becoming more common in agricultural areas where our crops are grown.

2026 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety
Article Tier 2

Adsorption-desorption of propyrisulfuron in six typical agricultural soils of China: Kinetics, thermodynamics, influence of 38 environmental factors and its mechanisms

This study investigated how the common herbicide propyrisulfuron behaves in six different Chinese agricultural soils, and notably found that microplastic contamination in the soil was one of 38 environmental factors influencing how much of the herbicide was adsorbed. The herbicide bound tightly enough to soil particles that residues could persist and potentially leach into groundwater with continued use. The incidental finding about microplastic influence on herbicide adsorption points to a broader issue: microplastics in farmland soils may alter the behavior of pesticides and other agrochemicals, with implications for both crop safety and water quality.

2025 Environmental Pollution 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Adsorption behaviors of atrazine and imidacloprid on high temperature aged microplastics: Mechanism and influencing factors

Researchers investigated how aged polyethylene microplastics — the kind that have been weathered by UV light and heat in the environment — adsorb common agricultural pesticides, finding that microplastics can accumulate pesticides like atrazine and imidacloprid at high concentrations through hydrophobic (water-avoiding) interactions. This "Trojan horse" effect means microplastics can carry and potentially concentrate pesticides as they move through water environments.

2024 Desalination and Water Treatment 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Different effects of polyethylene microplastics on bioaccumulation of three fungicides in maize (Zea mays L.)

Polyethylene microplastics in agricultural soil altered the sorption and dissipation of three fungicides and their accumulation in maize plants, with effects differing by fungicide type and plastic particle concentration.

2024 Crop Health 6 citations
Article Tier 2

New insights for microplastic degradation: Synergistic degradation mechanisms of microplastics and atrazine in sediments

Researchers conducted a 90-day experiment to study how the pesticide atrazine interacts with different types of microplastics in sediments, finding that atrazine adsorption actually increased microplastic mass loss by up to 175 percent. Metagenomic analysis revealed that the combination fostered distinct microbial communities on the plastic surfaces that enhanced biodegradation. The study provides new insights suggesting that co-contamination of microplastics and pesticides may paradoxically accelerate microbial breakdown of both pollutants in sediments.

2025 Water Research 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of microplastics on 3,5-dichloroaniline adsorption, degradation, bioaccumulation and phytotoxicity in soil-chive systems

Researchers examined how polyethylene and biodegradable PLA microplastics affect the behavior of a toxic pesticide byproduct in soil where chives are grown. They found that both types of microplastics increased soil absorption of the chemical and slowed its breakdown, extending the time it persists in the environment. While the microplastics partially reduced the pesticide's direct harm to plant growth, they increased chemical residues in soil and plant roots.

2024 Environmental Geochemistry and Health 4 citations