Metabolism of iprodione in adapted and non-adapted soils; Effect of soil inoculation with an iprodione-degrading Arthrobacter strain

Soils previously treated with iprodione degraded the fungicide more rapidly than previously-untreated samples of the same soils. Addition of an iprodione-degrading Arthrobacter sp. culture to a previously-untreated soil enhanced the degradation rate of the fungicide. In previously-untreated soils, chemical and biological transformations of iprodione led to different products. In previously-treated soils and in previously-untreated soils enriched with Arthrobacter sp., the product obtained from the hydrolysis of exocyclic urea function of iprodione was transformed initially into 3,5-dichlorophenylurea acetic acid, which was then further degraded to 3,5-dichloroaniline. Experiments showed that soil adaptation leading to enhanced iprodione degradation was related to the ability of microorganisms to make the first transformation step.