MICROPLASTICS IN AGRICULTURAL SOILS: EFFECTS ON CROP PRODUCTIVITY AND ANIMAL HEALTH

Abstract

Microplastics are being seen as a huge issue in the land eco system although very little is known about their impacts to animal health and agricultural productivities.  This experiment examines the influence of microplastic content in soil on crop yield, root development, soil respiration, and the threat of animals getting exposed to them.  In comparative agronomic conditions, we researched 20 treatments of varying microplastic content (86.45 to 475.85 mg/kg).  The findings revealed that higher concentration of microplastics resulted in sharp declines in crop biomass (by 60 percent), root length, and soil respiration. At very intense exposures, there was a drop in yield of more than 35%.  As the correlation study indicated, a strong negative association was observed between the abundance of microplastic and biomass ( r = -0.81) and root length (r = -0.76).  The Animal Exposure Index increased with the increase in the levels of pollution and hence the higher the threat to the environment.  The tests carried out using ANOVA revealed that the treatments proved to have a substantial influence on all the variables (p < 0.05) and the regression modelling revealed that the concentrations of microplastics in the soil was the primary factor that contributed to lower yields.  The scatter diagrams, mixed plots, and the box are plots revealed that the variability among treatments was extensive and over time, microplastic had an immense impact on plant as well as soil systems.  This paper demonstrates how microplastics accumulate in terrestrial soils and can damage the environment and agriculture, and changes to policies and waste management strategies are needed as soon as possible in order to minimize the threat of microplastics.