ECOTOXICOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT OF THE ACUTE TOXICITY OF COMMERCIAL AGRICULTURAL INPUTS ON ARTEMIA SALINA

Abstract

The present study aimed to evaluate the toxicity of different commercial fertilizers from the SEAGRI® brand on nauplii of the microcrustacean Artemia salina, widely used as a test organism in ecotoxicological bioassays. Five types of SEAGRI® products were analyzed—Post-Emergent, Seed, Vegetative, Reproductive, and Soil—at concentrations ranging from 100 to 3200 mg/L, based on the OECD 202 protocol (Daphnia sp. Acute Immobilization Test). The positive control consisted of potassium dichromate (K₂Cr₂O₇; 0.001M), and the negative control was a 3.5% saline solution. The nauplii were exposed to the test solutions for 24 and 48 hours, and toxicity was determined through mortality rate. The results showed 100% mortality in the positive control, confirming the sensitivity and reliability of the assay. In contrast, no significant mortality was observed in nauplii exposed to the products, even at the highest concentrations tested (p>0.05). The slight increase in mortality at concentrations of 1600 and 3200 mg/L, especially after 48 hours, suggests a possible influence of exposure time, but without statistical evidence of acute toxicity. These results contrast with previous studies involving pesticides, in which LC₅₀ values in the mg/L range indicate higher toxicity, showing that commercial formulations may exhibit greater acute toxicity compared to isolated compounds due to the toxicity of their adjuvants. Thus, SEAGRI® products demonstrated low acute toxicity, probably due to their balanced composition and the presence of complexed forms of nutrients. It is concluded that the tested SEAGRI® products do not present significant toxicity to A. salina under the evaluated experimental conditions and are therefore considered low acute toxicity under the tested conditions regarding acute aquatic exposure. The bioassay confirmed the suitability of A. salina as an efficient, sensitive, and low-cost experimental model for preliminary toxicological screenings of agricultural inputs.