A mixed microbial culture able to transform alachlor at a concentration of 50 μg ml-1 was obtained from alachlor-treated soil after an enrichment period of 84 days. The microbial community was composed of seven strains of bacteria. No single isolate was able to utilize alachlor as a sole source of carbon. There was no alachlor left in the enriched culture after a 14-day incubation, but only 12% of the 14C-ring-labeled alachlor was converted to 14CO2 through ring cleavage during 14 days in the basal medium amended with alachlor as a sole carbon source. The presence of sucrose as an alternative carbon source decreased the mineralization potential of the enriched culture, but sucrose increased the mineralizing ability of a three-member mixed culture. Thin-layer chromatographic analysis showed that there were four unidentified metabolites of alachlor produced by the enriched culture. Sucrose decreased the amount of two of the four metabolites. The absence of a noticeable decline in radioactivity beyond the initial 12% suggested that the side chain of alachlor was utilized as carbon source by the enriched culture. Little difference in radioactivity between growth medium and cell-free supernatant of the growth medium suggested that the carbon in the ring was not incorporated into the cells of the degrading microorganisms.

Chlorpropham (isopropyl m-chlorocarbanilate) at 6.7 kg ai/ha controlled a mixture of field dodder (Cuscuta campestris Yunck. ♯3 CVCCA) and largeseed dodder (Cuscuta indecora Choisy ♯ CVCIN) for 3.0 and 4.3 weeks in two greenhouse experiments. The insecticide carbaryl (1-naphthyl N-methylcarbamate) at 0.8 kg ai/ha applied with chlorpropham extended control by 0.7 and 1.8 weeks, and PCMC (p-chlorphenyl N-methylcarbamate) at 0.8 kg ai/ha extended it by 2.7 and 2.8 weeks. Both additives also improved dodder control by chlorpropham in the field, with carbaryl having less effect than PCMC.

Broilers are reared in an intensive production system starting with a small initial live weight that increases dramatically by the end of the production cycle. Within the broiler house there are consequent changes in heat, moisture and carbon dioxide production. Microbial decomposition of faeces and litter produces a number of aerial contaminants, particularly ammonia and dust as well as a complex of compounds responsible for the characteristic odour associated with these enterprises. The concentrationof most aerosol particles increases during the production period. Ammonia emissions from livestock buildings have considerable localised environmental effects when deposited on the adjacent land. High levels of inspirable dust can cause respiratory problems in broilers and the particles carry a proportion of the odorous volatile compounds that often attracts adverse comment by neighbouring residents.