Soil Persistence of Repeated Annual Applications of Atrazine

Abstract

Dissipation of 2-chloro-4-(ethylamino)-6-(isopropylamino)-s-triazine (atrazine) in sprinkler-irrigated fields was faster in a silty clay loam soil of eastern Nebraska than in loam soils of central or western Nebraska. Atrazine dissipated faster under fallow than under corn (Zea mays L.) culture in western Nebraska, but there was no difference in atrazine loss whether in corn or fallow in central or eastern Nebraska. In central and western Nebraska, atrazine persisted in the soil for longer than 1 year. In eastern Nebraska under sprinkler irrigation, most of the atrazine had dissipated before the following growing season. Sprinkler irrigation markedly reduced atrazine longevity in soils studied.