Abstract: A pot experiment was carried out in order to understand effects of Pennisetum hydridum on atrazine degradation, dynamics of the degradation and translocation of the substance, and relationships between concentration of atrazine residue and activities of relevant soil enzymes in the soil. Results show that atrazine degradation rate significantly increased in pots planted with P. hydridum. by 52.84 percentage in non-sterilized pots and by 42.38 percentage in sterilized pots. The half-life of soil atrazine in sterilized and non-sterilized pots planted with P. hydridum was significantly shortened, by 64.35 days and 53.21 days, respectively. Atrazine in soil was absorbed by P. hydridum, and then gradually transferred from roots to shoots. With the plants growing on and on, transfer coefficient of the substance increased. Significant negative relationships were observed between concentration of atrazine residue in the soil and activities of soil catalase, peroxidase, invertase and polyphenol oxidase. All these findings indicate that planting P. hydridum is conducive to degradation of atrazine in the soil.

Key words: atrazine, Pennisetum hydridum, phytodegradation, degradation rate, soil enzyme