Imazaquin In Soil Research Articles

Behavior of the enantiomers of the herbicide imazaquin in agricultural soils under different application regimes

Sorption, persistence, and leaching of the enantiomers of the herbicide imazaquin, S-imazaquin and R-imazaquin, in two soils under different application regimes were studied. Imazaquin dissipation was evaluated after a single application of the racemic herbicide and the pure enantiomers, and after a repeated application of the racemic herbicide. The effects of adding two olive-mill wastes (ALP and ALPc), biochar (BC), and organoclay (SA-HDTMA) on sorption, dissipation, and leaching of imazaquin enantiomers applied as racemic herbicide to the soils was also evaluated. For all treatments, sorption, dissipation, and leaching of imazaquin in the soils were either non-enantioselective or scarcely enantioselective. No interconversion of R-imazaquin to S-imazaquin or vice-versa was observed in the experiments with the pure isomers. Addition of ALP, ALPc, or BC did not enhance the negligible sorption of imazaquin enantiomers by the soils, but accelerated their dissipation. Addition of SA-HDTMA increased sorption of both enantiomers and delayed their dissipation and leaching. The results illustrate how agricultural practices can impact the behavior of imazaquin enantiomers in soils and support the suitability of replacing currently used racemic formulations of imazaquin with formulations based on the single biologically-active (R) enantiomer to reduce the environmental impact of this chiral pesticide.

MOBILIDADE DO HERBICIDA IMAZAQUIN EM DIFERENTES SOLOS

RESUMO: O imazaquin é um herbicida utilizado intensivamente no Brasil para controlar plantas daninhas associadas principalmente a cultura da soja. O presente trabalho teve como objetivos estudar a mobilidade e a lixiviação do imazaquin em solos com diferentes características. Em ambos os experimentos o delineamento estatístico foi inteiramente casualizado com três repetições. Estudou-se a mobilidade do imazaquin em Latossolo Vermelho Eutrófico (textura muito argilosa), Nitossolo Háplico Eutrófico (textura média argilosa), Argissolo Vermelho Amarelo Eutrófico (textura média argilosa) e Neossolo Quartzarênico Órtico (textura arenosa). Para a obtenção do coeficiente de mobilidade (Rf) uma solução de 14C-imazaquin com atividade de 304,75 Bq/µL foi aplicado em placas contendo os diferentes solos. Todos os valores de Rf variaram entre 0,803 e 1, indicando que o herbicida possui alta mobilidade para todos os solos. No estudo de lixiviação foram utilizados os solos classificados como Latossolos Vermelhos e que diferiam quimicamente. O herbicida imazaquin (14C Imazaquin + produto técnico) foi aplicado na dose recomendada (161 g i.a ha-1), diretamente sobre a superfície das amostras de solo que foram previamente empacotadas em colunas. Posteriormente, foi feita simulação de chuva de 200 mm. A maior parte de radioatividade do imazaquin foi retida nas camadas de 0 a 10 cm nos dois solos LVe, sendo que no solo com maior pH uma pequena % de radioatividade foi notada até a camada de 15-20 cm. O herbicida imazaquin tem maior mobilidade em solos com baixo teor de matéria orgânica e de argila e em solos com alto pH.

Estimating the combined toxicity of flufenacet and imazaquin to sorghum with pore water herbicide concentration

Combined toxicity of herbicides to non-target crops is usually resulted from their successive application. The present study was conducted to assess the combined toxicity of flufenacet (FLU) and imazaquin (IMA) to sorghum with their concentration in soil pore water. The concentrations that inhibited growth by 50% (IC50) of FLU and IMA individually and their combination estimated from the herbicide concentrations in soil pore water notably differed from those based on the amended concentrations, due to the decline in bioavailability resulting from adsorption of the herbicides onto soil. According to the amended concentrations, the combined effect of FLU and IMA in soil on sorghum growth was identified as additive action. Based on the concentration in soil pore water, however, it was determined to be antagonism, which was identical to that observed in a test using culture solution. The results revealed that pore water herbicide concentration might be an effective tool to assess the combined toxicity of herbicides in soil to rotational crops.

Bioavailability-based estimation of phytotoxicity of imazaquin in soil to sorghum.

The injury to sensitive rotational crops caused by residual herbicides from their applications has happened frequently. The assessment of activity of residual herbicide in soil has been of agronomic concern. To accurately determine the toxicity and obtain a comparable concentration that inhibits growth by 50% (IC50) in different soils, the concentrations of imazaquin in CaCl2 (CCaCl2) and H2O (CH2O) extraction and in in situ pore water (CPW) were adopted for the estimation of IC50 to sorghum. The IC50 values based on CCaCl2 and CH2O were 0.06 mg L(-1) in soil Ansai (AS) to 0.13 mg L(-1) in soil Huajiachi (HJC), 0.32 mg L(-1) in soil AS to 0.71 mg L(-1) in soil HJC, respectively, with variation coefficients of 38.32 and 34.93%. However, CPW-based IC50 values ranged from 0.90 mg L(-1) in soil Xiaoshan (XS) to 1.09 mg L(-1) in soil HJC with a variation coefficient of 6.96%. This implies that the IC50 based on imazaquin concentration in in situ pore water is almost identical in the five soils. With further studies with more herbicides and plant species, this method might be expanded for the estimation of phytotoxicity of residual herbicide(s) to plant(s).

Determination of Imazaquin Residues in Soil by Solid-Phase Extraction and High-Performance Liquid Chromatography

A method has been developed for the quantitation of imazaquin residues in soil. The herbicide was extracted from soil with methanol-water (2 + 1, v/v) and cleaned up by strong anion-exchange solid-phase extraction cartridges. Analysis was performed by using high-performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection. Average recoveries through the method ranged from 90.7 to 100.6%, with relative standard deviation equal to or lower than 6.6%. The limit of detection was estimated to be 0.0015 mg/kg, and the minimum quantitation concentration of imazaquin in soil was 0.005 mg/kg. This method was successfully applied to evaluate imazaquin residue levels in soil and its dissipation rates in a soybean field in the Xisanqi District of Beijing, People's Republic of China. The dissipation study showed that the half life of imazaquin in soil was 10.37 +/- 0.0135 days at 3 different application rates.

Adsorption, Desorption, and Degradation of Imidazolinones in Soil1

The fate of imazamox, imazethapyr, and imazaquin in soil was evaluated at various soil moisture levels and at soil pH levels of 5 and 7. The percentage of each herbicide sorbed, desorbed, dissipated, and metabolized over time was compared. Soil was kept at its field pH (pH 7) or modified to a lower pH (pH 5) and equilibrated to field moisture contents ranging from 0.27 to 0.21 g water/ g soil, at and below the field capacity of the soil. Soil moisture in the range studied did not affect the fate of the herbicides. The percentage of applied herbicide found in soil solution was greatest for imazamox and least for imazaquin (imazamox > imazethapyr > imazaquin) and was greater at pH 7 than at pH 5 for all three herbicides. Over time, less herbicide was in the soil solution and less was desorbed. Metabolism followed the same pattern. Among the herbicides, metabolism followed the following sequence, imazamox > imazethapyr > imazaquin with metabolism greater at pH 7 than at pH 5 for all three herbicides. At pH 7, the half-life for imazamox was 1.4 wk and for imazethapyr was 16 wk, and the estimated half-life for imazaquin was 191 wk.Nomenclature: Imazamox; imazaquin; imazethapyr.Additional index words: Anionic herbicide, carryover, dissipation, fate, metabolism, persistence, pKa, soil moisture.Abbreviation: LSC, liquid scintillation counting.

Effect of organic amendments on the retention and mobility of imazaquin in soils.

The influence of two organic amendments consisting of an urban waste compost (SUW) and a commercial amendment from olive mill wastes (OW) was assessed on the sorption properties and leaching of the ionizable herbicide imazaquin on four soils with different physicochemical characteristics. A loamy sand soil (CR), a loam soil (P44), a silt loam soil (AL), and a clay soil (TM), with low-medium organic matter contents, were chosen. Sorption-desorption experiments were performed on the original soils and on a mixture of these soils with the organic amendments at a rate of 6.25% (w/w). These mixtures were used just after preparation and after aging for 3 months. Imazaquin adsorption was higher on AL soil because of its high content of amorphous iron oxides, whereas it was related to the soils' organic matter (OM) contents on TM and CR soils and to acid pH on P44 soil. Addition of exogenous OM to soils caused a decrease in the adsorption of the herbicide with the only exception of CR soil, due to blocking of adsorptive surfaces and/or equilibrium pH rise. The extent of this decrease was dependent only on the nature of the added amendment on AL soil. The adsorbed amounts of imazaquin on aged organic fertilized soils were usually fairly close to that on original soils. Results of soil column experiments indicate that addition of exogenous organic matter cannot be considered as a regular practice for retarded movement of imazaquin.

Sorption of imazaquin in soils with positive balance of charges.

The herbicide imazaquin has both an acid and a basic ionizable groups, and its sorption depends upon the pH, the electric potential (psi0), and the oxide and the organic carbon (OC) contents of the soil. Sorption and extraction experiments using 14C-imazaquin were performed in surface and subsurface samples of two acric oxisols (an anionic "rhodic" acrudox and an anionic "xanthic" acrudox) and one non-acric alfisol (a rhodic kandiudalf), treated at four different pH values. Imazaquin showed low to moderate sorption to the soils. Sorption decreased and aqueous extraction increased as pH increased. Up to pH 5.8, sorption was higher in subsurface than in surface layers of the acric soils, due to the positive balance of charges resulted from the high Fe and Al oxide and the low OC contents. It favored electrostatic interactions with anionic molecules of imazaquin. For the subsurface samples of these highly weathered soils, where psi0 was positive and OC was low, it was not possible to predict sorption just by considering imazaquin speciation and its hydrophobic partition to the organic domains of the soil. Moreover, if Koc measured for thesurface samples were assumed to represent the whole profile in predictive models for leaching potential, then it would result in underestimation of sorption potential in subsurface, and consequently result in overestimation of the leaching potential.

Imazaquin mobility and persistence in a Sharkey clay soil as influenced by tillage systems

Field studies were conducted at Delta Research and Extension Center, Stoneville, MS, in 1996, 1997, and 1998 to assess the effect of tillage systems (conventional tillage and subsoiling) on the environmental fate of imazaquin in a Sharkey clay soil. Imazaquin was applied preemergence at 140 g ai ha−1. Subsoiling in the fall did not affect imazaquin dissipation, total volume of runoff, imazaquin concentration in runoff, or imazaquin concentration in soil, as determined by chemical extraction. A corn root bioassay revealed no differences due to tillage systems in plant-available imazaquin in soil. Imazaquin concentration measured by chemical extraction or bioassay diminished over time, with a half-life ranging from 8 to 25 d. A field bioassay utilizing cotton and corn was conducted in 1997 and 1998 using plots that had received imazaquin the previous year. In 1997, 2 wk after planting, cotton and corn injury ranged from 3 to 15%, whereas no injury was observed in 1998. Injury symptoms declined over time, with no injury 5 wk after planting in either year. Although early-season cotton stunting and slight discoloration of corn was apparent in 1997, imazaquin residues did not affect subsequent vegetative and reproductive growing patterns of cotton or corn. In 1998, corn and cotton height were significantly greater in subsoiled plots compared to conventional tillage.

Retention of imazaquin in soil

AbstractThe molecular complexity of imazaquin and presence of ionizable functional groups limits the ability to predict sorption behavior from single soil parameters such as organic carbon content. Partition coefficients (Kp) for both neutral and anionic forms of imazaquin as well as the effects of solution ionic strength and composition were investigated to more adequately describe sorption of imazaquin in soil. Soils representing a range of characteristics were evaluated, including soils with permanent negative or variable surface charge. Imazaquin retention resulted from combined sorption for the neutral (Kocn, 1,110 ± 80 L/kg) and anionic (Koc,a, 38 ± 20 L/kg) forms. Imazaquin sorption was best correlated to soil organic carbon content and soil‐solution pH. However, results indicated that positively charged Fe2+ and Al3+ oxyhydroxides contribute to sorption of the organic anion; thus mineral surfaces contributed to sorption in soils with low organic carbon content. The effects of electrolyte matrices on imazaquin sorption were accounted for by concomitant changes in pH. However, enhanced imazaquin sorption was observed with increasing ionic strength for soils where pH‐induced changes in speciation were negligible, indicating the role of mechanisms other than weak hydrophobic interactions. Addition of H2 PO significantly decreased imazaquin sorption, especially in weathered soils.

Chlorimuron and Imazaquin Persistence in Selected Southern Soils under Controlled Conditions

Growth chamber research was conducted to compare the persistence of chlorimuron or imazaquin in soils from 11 locations in the southern United States at 25 C. Chlorimuron at 30 ng g-1or imazaquin at 60 ng g-1of soil was incorporated throughout each soil, and soils were watered to the water holding capacity and incubated in the dark. Soil samples were taken 0, 7, 14, 28, 60, and 90 d after treatment. Amount of chlorimuron or imazaquin remaining in each soil was quantified by sicklepod or corn root length bioassay, respectively. First order regression generally fit the concentration data for each herbicide. Bioactivity and persistence of chlorimuron in the soils was related primarily to soil organic matter content. Bioactivity and persistence of imazaquin was similar among the soils.

Comparison of Bioassay Techniques for Detecting Imazaquin in Soil

Three corn root bioassays were evaluated for detecting imazaquin in soil. Two techniques, one which utilized a cone-shaped tube as the growth container and another, a petri dish, were compared to a method that utilized a thin layer of soil between two 20 by 20 cm glass plates. Corn root growth responded logarithmically to imazaquin regardless of bioassay method. Corn was most sensitive to low imazaquin concentrations when grown using the glass plate apparatus. At a low concentration (0.5 ng/g) of imazaquin, corn root length was reduced 6% using the cone-tube, 2% using the petri dish, and 24% using the glass plate method. In contrast, the cone-tube method provided a better measure of high imazaquin concentration (200 ng/g) than the other methods.

Microbial and Photolytic Dissipation of Imazaquin in Soil

Microbial degradation of imazaquin {2-[4,5-dihydro-4-methyl-4-(1-methylethyl)-5-oxo-1H-imidazol-2-yl]-3-quinolinecarboxylic acid} was monitored by measuring14CO2evolution for 7 months under controlled laboratory conditions. Up to 10% of the14C chain-labeled imazaquin that was applied to a Crowley silt loam was evolved as14CO2in 7 months. Less evolution of14CO2occurred on a Sharkey silty clay, a soil with higher clay and organic matter content, than on silt loam soils. The loss of 66 to 100% of the imazaquin applied to a Crowley silt loam incubated for 8 months at 18 C or 35 C, respectively, suggested that metabolic changes in addition to CO2evolution were occurring. Rapid loss of imazaquin phytotoxicity occurred when soils were held at warm-moist (35 C and −33 kPa) conditions conducive to microbial growth. Imazaquin was more persistent in soils stored under cool, dry (18 C and −100 kPa) conditions. Imazaquin on a soil surface dissipated rapidly when exposed to ultraviolet light or sunlight. Photodecomposition could be a major mode of imazaquin dissipation if this herbicide is allowed to remain on the soil surface.