Herbicide Atrazine is widely used in Saccharum Officinarum (sugar fields) in South India. Atrazine has been found as a residue in soil and water bodies of sugarcane fields for up to 2 years. Prolonged exposure to atrazine has been found to cause many harmful effects including cancer. This study evaluates the capacity of bacteria to degrade Atrazine in soil from South Indian Sugar cane fields and hence study its application in bioremediation. Soil was tested for Atrazine residue 2 weeks after spraying. Soil bacteria were enumerated by serial dilution on Trypticase soy agar and the resulting colonies were grown in nutrient agar with varying concentrations of Atrazine to detect Atrazine tolerant bacteria. The Atrazine tolerant bacteria were identified by Biochemical tests. Finally, an assay was performed to study degradation of Atrazine by the bacteria in a Minimal salt medium supplemented with Glucose. It was found the bacteria were capable of degrading Atrazine by using it as its Nitrogen source for growth. Pseudomonas spp and Bacillus spp were found to be resistant to Atrazine and able to degrade Atrazine optimally. Results suggested that an emulsion of the bacteria can possibly be used for bioremediation of Atrazine soil fields and water bodies.
