Abstract
Application of a commercial formulation of the herbicide butachlor (N-butoxymethyl-2-chloro-2′,6′-diethyl acetanilide) at 1 kg a.i. ha–1 to an alluvial soil planted with direct-seeded flooded rice (cv. Annada), significantly inhibited both crop-mediated emission and ebullition fluxes of methane (CH4). Over a cropping period of 110 days, the crop-mediated cumulative emission flux of CH4 was lowered by ∼20% in butachlor-treated field plots compared with that of an untreated control. Concurrently, ebollition flux of CH4 was also retarded in butachlor-treated field plots by about 81% compared with that of control plots. Significant relationships existed between CH4 emission and redox potential (Eh) and Fe2+ content of the flooded soil. Application of butachlor retarded a drop in soil redox potential as well as accumulation of Fe2+ in treated field plots. Methanogenic bacterial population, counted at the maturity stage of the crop, was also low in butachlor-treated plots, indicating both direct and indirect inhibitory effects of butachlor on methanogenic bacterial populations and their activity. Results indicate that butachlor, even at field-application level, can effectively abate CH4 emission and ebollition from flooded soils planted to rice whilst maintaining grain yield.
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