Assessing the Impacts of Cu(OH)2 Nanopesticide and Ionic Copper on the Soil Enzyme Activity and Bacterial Community

Nanopesticides are being introduced in agriculture, and the associated environmental risks and benefits must be carefully assessed before their widespread agricultural applications. We investigated the impacts of a commercial Cu(OH)2 nanopesticide formulation (NPF) at different agricultural application doses (e.g., 0.5, 5, and 50 mg of Cu kg–1) on enzyme activities and bacterial communities of loamy soil (organic matter content of 3.61%) over 21 days. Results were compared to its ionic analogue (i.e., CuSO4) and nano-Cu(OH)2, including both the commercial unformulated active ingredient of NPF (AI-NPF) and synthesized Cu(OH)2 nanorods (NR). There were negligible changes in the activity of acid phosphatase, regardless of exposure dose, whereas significant (p < 0.05) variations in activities of invertase, urease, and catalase were observed at a dose of 5 mg kg–1 or higher. Invertase activity decreased with an increasing bioavailable Cu concentration in soil under various treatments. In comparison to CuSO4, both Cu(OH)2 nanopesticide (i.e., NPF) and nano-Cu(OH)2 (i.e., AI-NPF and NR) caused a significant (p < 0.05) inhibition of urease activity, wherein a significant (p < 0.05) increase in the activity of catalase was observed, representing serious oxidative stress. Accordingly, NPF, AI-NPF, and NR differently affected soil bacterial abundance, diversity, and community compared to CuSO4, which could have resulted from the changes in the bioavailable Cu concentration as a result of the distinct nature of copper spiked (i.e., nano form versus salt). Moreover, minor differences in the soil enzyme activity and bacterial community were observed between NPF and AI-NPF, reflecting that the impact of the Cu(OH)2 nanopesticide was primarily attributed to the presence of nano-Cu(OH)2. In total, the impacts of nano-Cu(OH)2 on the soil bacterial community and enzyme activity tested in this study differed from CuSO4, shedding light on the environmental risks of the Cu(OH)2 nanopesticide in the long run.