FIELD-EVALUATION OF THE POSSIBLE IMPACT OF SOME PESTICIDES ON THE SOIL AND WATER ENVIRONMENT IN NIGERIA

A study conducted at Ibadan, Nigeria, showed that some community water supplies were slightly polluted by the pesticides applied on adjacent farms. There was also evidence of soil degradation as a result of agr ochemical use, with differences in the physico-chemical properties of soils in fields where agrochemicals had been applied and in adjacent f ields that had not been cultivated. Measures that can be taken to mini mize some of the environmental dangers inherent in the application of agrochemicals are discussed.