The unexplored challenge of indaziflam in agroecosystems

Abstract

Indaziflam is a pre-emergent herbicide increasingly used in agriculture, yet its high toxicity and persistence in soil raise concerns regarding its environmental impact and implications for sustainable production systems. Despite its growing use, scientific knowledge on its environmental behavior and mitigation strategies remains limited. This study presents a systematic review focused on biological processes for reducing indaziflam contamination in agricultural soils. Using the PRISMA protocol, scientific articles published between 2011 and 2025 were retrieved from the Web of Science, Scopus, and SciELO databases. The review identified five relevant studies, most published in recent years and restricted to only two countries, highlighting significant geographic and thematic gaps. The strategies reported include biosorption usingbiochar, phytoremediation with crop-relevant plant species, and microbial biodegradation. However, no study demonstrated direct microbial metabolism or enzymatic degradation of indaziflam. This lack of evidence suggests that the herbicide’s recalcitrance may limit microbial activity or that specific degraders have yet to be identified. The current scarcity of research in major agricultural regions likely underestimates the broader ecological risks of indaziflam. Future research should prioritize the isolation and application of microorganisms with metabolic potential, along with the use of tolerant plant species and complementary physicochemical approaches to advance sustainable remediation strategies.