Pesticide Residue Abatement Laboratory Infestation Control and Protectants Department, Central Food Technological Research Institute, Mysore-570 013, India.
*To whom corresponence should be addressed.
Online published on 3 November, 2011.
The influence of soil residues of α and β hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) on the soil protozoan population is reported. By providing a pure culture of bacteria as food, protozoans from α-HCH treated soil were isolated. Soil treated with α-HCH (100 ppm) and incubated for 5 days contained more protozoans. This increase was 3 folds in the flagellate population and 5 folds in ciliates. One frequently encountered ciliate culture, was purified and identified as Tetrahymena pyriformis m. strain (T.p.m. strain). Monoculture studies with T. p.m. revealed that α-HCH upto 10 ppm and β-HCH upto 15 ppm stimulated the cell multiplication. However, more than 20 ppm a and β-HCH caused death of the cells in laboratory culture medium.
