Vol. 3, Issue 4, Part I (2017)

Abstract
Soil microflora is the key component of agricultural ecosystems that not only plays a significant role in the basic soil processes but is also actively involved in enhancing soil fertility and crop productivity. The present study was carried out to evaluate the effect of indiscriminate use of common pesticides especially insecticides and fungicides on the population of soil microflora in cultivated soil of ground nut field. Novaluron and Thiophanate methyl are the two pesticides used in the present research work to study the population of Azospirillum, bacteria and nitrifiers. These three microorganisms respectively has shown healthy growth upto 5.0 Kg/ha^-1 pesticide application rate, whereas the growth of Azospirillum, bacteria, nitrifiers has decreased at 10.0 Kg ha^-1 pesticide concentration. The important findings of the present study are that the effect on microbes by applying high amount of pesticides reflects the ecological imbalance in cultivated soil. The study focused on the uses of the pesticides as a plant protection agent occasionally hampers the growth of soil microflora in cultivated groundnut field.