Paclobutrazol is growth regulator of plants that has low mobility in soil and therefore has accumulated. The objective of this study was to investigate the paclobutrazol biodegradation in two soils from the São Francisco River Valley. The biodegradation experiments were conducted in batch using paclobutrazol and paclobutrazol added glycerol. The experiments were performed in sterile and nonsterile conditions using a mixed culture of Pseudomonas. The concentration of paclobutrazol was determined by high performance liquid chromatography. The biodegradation reached 43% in 14 days of experiments with only paclobutrazol and 70% in 28 days of experiments that contained glycerol and paclobutrazol.
biodegradation; paclobutrazol; Pseudomonas
