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Rapid Assay for Detecting Enhanced Atrazine Degradation in Soil

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Dale L. Shaner ,
W. Brien Henry ,
L. Jason Krutz  and
Brad Hanson
Dale L. Shaner*
Affiliation:
U.S. Department of Agriculture–Agricultural Research Service, Water Management Research Unit, 2150 Centre Avenue, Building D, Suite 320, Fort Collins, CO 80526
W. Brien Henry
Affiliation:
U.S. Department of Agriculture–Agricultural Research Service, Central Great Plains Research Unit, 40335 County Road GG, Akron, CO 80720
L. Jason Krutz
Affiliation:
U.S. Department of Agriculture–Agricultural Research Service, Southern Weed Science Research Unit, P.O. Box 350, Stoneville, MS 38776
Brad Hanson
Affiliation:
U.S. Department of Agriculture–Agricultural Research Service, Water Management Unit, 9611 S. Riverbend Avenue, Parlier, CA 93648
*
Corresponding author's E-mail: dale.shaner@ars.usda.gov.
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Abstract

Atrazine is widely used to control broadleaf weeds and grasses in corn, sorghum, and sugarcane. Field persistence data published before 1995 showed that the average half-life of atrazine in soil was 66 d, and farmers expect to achieve weed control with a single application for the full season. However, reports of enhanced atrazine degradation in soil from fields that have a history of atrazine applications are increasing. A rapid laboratory assay was developed to screen soils for enhanced atrazine degradation. Soil (50 g) was placed in a 250 ml glass jar and treated with 7.5 ml of water containing atrazine (5 µg ai ml−1) and capped with a Teflon-lined lid. The assay was conducted at room temperature (25 C). Soil subsamples (1.5 to 3 g) were removed at 0, 1, 2, 4, 8, and 16 d after treatment and extracted with an equal weight of water (wt/vol). The atrazine in the water extract was assayed with high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC). The half-life of atrazine in soils with a history of use was ≤ 1.5 d, whereas the half-life in soils with no history of atrazine use was > 8 d. The advantages of this assay are (1) the ease of set up; (2) the rapidity of extraction, and (3) the simplicity of the quantification of the atrazine.

Keywords

Atrazinecorn, Zea mays Lsorghum, Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moenchsugarcane, Saccharum officinarum L.Accelerated degradationdissipationhalf-lifemicrobial metabolism
Type
Soil, Air, and Water
Information
Weed Science , Volume 55 , Issue 5 , October 2007 , pp. 528 - 535
Copyright
Copyright © Weed Science Society of America 

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