Residues of aldrin, dieldrin, chlordane, and DDT in soil and sugarbeets.

Abstract

After emulsifiable formulations of aldrin, chlordane, and DDT were each applied to Umapine loam soil at 6 rates ranging from 0.625 to 20 lb per acre, sugarbeets were grown in the treated plots for 3 consecutive years, 1965-1967, and samples of soil and mature sugarbeets were analyzed by gas chromatography. The half-lives of aldrin, aldrin plus its metabolite dieldrin, dieldrin, chlordane, and DDT were 3.1, 8.5, 29.7, 14.3, 22.9 months, respectively. The residues in mature sugarbeets were proportional to the residues in the soil at the time of planting. In 1965, residues of aldrin and dieldrin in beets averaged 18% of the total concentration of the 2 compounds in the soil; in 1966 and 1967, residues that were primarily dieldrin averaged 8.4% of the concentration in soil. Residues of chlordane and DDT in the beets averaged 9.6 and 5.5%, respectively, of the concentration in soil at the time of planting.