Understanding the Degradation of Carbofuran in Agricultural Area: A Review of Fate, Metabolites, and Toxicity

Pesticides are commonly applied in agriculture to manage pests, parasites, weeds, and other crop diseases to maximise product output value and minimise or reduce yield losses. Pesticides are widely and indiscriminately used in crop production in most countries. Carbofuran is a highly toxic insecticide commonly used to protect crops in agricultural areas. Exposure to carbofuran can cause harmful effects on both the ecological environment and human health, particularly on non-target species such as birds and aquatic organisms. Carbofuran continues to be used, although it has been banned in some countries. This review paper highlights carbofuran usage, its residue, toxicity, and mechanisms of degradation pathways in water, soil, and food, especially in agriculture. It has been shown that hydrolysis, photolysis, and microbial degradation are the main pathways for carbofuran degradation. Carbofuran phenol is significantly less toxic than all photo-metabolites, while 3-ketocarbofuran and 3-hydroxycarbofuran are practically as harmful as the parent compound. Hence, more study is needed on degradation pathways that may thoroughly minimise the toxicity of this deadly pesticide.