The findings of this study indicate that tomato, sunflower, soybean
and alfalfa plants are characteristically different in the uptake
and translocation of endosulfan, and the subsequent biochemical
effects when they are grown in endosulfan-spiked soil. The
mechanism(s) involved in reducing endosulfan levels in soil might
be related to the uptake and translocation of compounds and the in
situ metabolism in the soil matrix. Sunflower plants were determined
to be the best phytoremediation candidate due to the
evident decrease of soil pesticide levels facilitated by the high
biomass production and uptake capacity of the plant, evidenced by
its high phytoextraction percentage. In addition, lipid peroxidation,
used as a biomarker of oxidative stress, correlated positively with
endosulfan levels in plants. Finally, the results indicate that endosulfan
exposure had negative effects on plant growth leading to
oxidative stress, evidenced by the high lipid peroxidation levels
observed in tomato, sunflower and soybean plant growth at 60
days. Further study will be required to understand how legacy
pesticides might affect crops.