Recycling organic residues in soils as amendments: Effect on the mobility of two herbicides under different management practices

Abstract

The addition of organic residues to soil to increase its organic matter content is considered as a viable option for sustainable food production in soils sensitive to degradation and erosion. However, the recycling of these organic residues in agricultural soils needs to be previously appraised because they can modify the behaviour of pesticides when they are simultaneously applied in agricultural practices. This study evaluated the changes in the mobility and persistence of two herbicides, triasulfuron and prosulfocarb, after two repeated applications in field experimental plots in an unamended soil and one amended with green compost (GC) for seven months. Different factors were studied: i) soil without amendment (S), ii) soil amended with two doses of GC (∼12 t C ha−1, S + GC1 and 40 t C ha−1, S + GC2), and iii) soils unamended and amended with different irrigation conditions: non-irrigated and with additional irrigation (2.8 mm per week). After the first application of herbicides, the results initially indicated no significant effects of soil treatments or irrigation conditions for triasulfuron mobility in agreement with the residual concentrations in the soil profile. The effect of irrigation was noted after one month of herbicide application and the effect of the soil treatment was significant after two months because the persistence of triasulfuron in S + GC2 was maintained until 50% of the applied amount. For prosulfocarb, the influence of soil amendment was significant for the initial persistence of the herbicide in S + GC2, higher than in S or S + GC1, in agreement with its adsorption constants for this soil. However, dissipation or leaching of the herbicide over time was not inhibited in this soil. After the repeated application of herbicides, the influence of the treatment of soils and/or irrigation was significant for the leaching and dissipation of both herbicides. The initial dissipation/degradation or leaching of herbicides was higher than after the first application, although persistence was maintained after five months of application in amended soils for triasulfuron and in unamended and amended soils for prosulfocarb. The results confirm that high doses of GC increased the persistence of both herbicides. This practice may offer the possibility of applying a tailored dose of GC to soil for striking a balance between residual concentrations and the soil agronomic effect.