Pesticides are considered among the most serious environmental pollutants, frequently used in the control of agricultural and
domestic pests. Biodegradation of chlorpyrifos and its 3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridinol (TCP) derivative was studied in mineral medium
and soil with fungal consortium consisting of JAS1 and JAS4 strains which were isolated from paddy field soil. The fungal
consortium was spiked with 300 mg l-1 chlorpyrifos which was degraded completely within 12 h of incubation in the mineral
medium along with the major metabolite TCP. The course of the degradation process was studied using HPLC and FTIR analyses.
Two experiments were carried out in soil which included the addition of nutrients (Carbon, Nitrogen and Phosphorous) with fungal
consortium and fungal consortium without addition of nutrients. In both the experiments, chlorpyrifos (300 mg kg-1 soil) and its
metabolite TCP were degraded within 24h and48 h, respectively. These results showed that the chlorpyrifos degrading fungal
consortium had the potential to degrade the pesticide from contaminated soil.