Atrazine degradation in mineral salts medium and soil using Hydrogel immobilized enrichment culture

An atrazine degrading enrichment culture was immobilized in hydrogel and evaluated for its ability to degrade atrazine. Four immobilized formulations viz. Formulation 1-without atrazine and stored at 4°C; Formulation 2-with atrazine and stored at 4°C; Formulation 3-without atrazine and stored at 27°C; Formulation 4-with atrazine and stored at 27°C, were prepared. After 30 days storage at respective temperature, only Formulation 1 was able to degrade atrazine in mineral salts medium, while other three formulations lost their atrazine degrading ability. Thus, hydrogel immobilized enrichment culture required atrazine to maintain its activity till 30 days when stored at 27ºC and lost its atrazine degrading ability when stored for 60 days. The immobilized enrichment culture was able to degrade atrazine in soil. Study suggested that the hydrogel immobilized culture, though had short shelf life of 30 days, can be successfully used to degrade atrazine in water and soil system.