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The aim of this study was to assess the effects of two pesticide regimens (conventional full insurance compared with supervised and reduced pesticide use) and two cultivation techniques (conventional tillage and fertilization compared with no tillage and lower fertilization) on soil microbes in a field study, and to evaluate the results with laboratory tests. The herbicides used were chlorsulfuron, MCPA, and bentazone; the fungicides carboxin–imazalin and propiconazole; and the insecticides dimethoate and pirimicarb. In the field studies, the effects on microbial biota were assessed by measuring biomass (ATP content) and microbial activities related to carbon and nitrogen metabolism (soil respiration, nitrification potential). Potential harmful effects of commercial formulations of the same pesticides on microbes were studied in the laboratory with two bacterial toxicity tests (Pseudomonas putida growth inhibition and …