Fate of diuron and terbuthylazine in soils amended with two-phase olive oil mill waste

The addition of organic amendments to soil increases soil organic matter content and stimulates soil microbial activity. Thus, processes affecting herbicide fate in the soil should be affected. The objective of this work was to investigate the effect of olive oil production industry organic waste (alperujo) on soil sorption-desorption, degradation, and leaching of diuron [3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea] and terbuthylazine [N2-tert-butyl-6-chloro-N4-ethyl-1,3,5-triazine-2,4-diamine], two herbicides widely used in olive crops. The soils used in this study were a sandy soil and a silty clay soil from two different olive groves. The sandy soil was amended in the laboratory with fresh (uncomposted) alperujo at the rate of 10% w/w, and the silty clay soil was amended in the field with fresh alperujo at the rate of 256 kg per tree during 4 years and in the laboratory with fresh or composted alperujo. Sorption of both herbicides increased in laboratory-amended soils as compared to unamended or field-amended soils, and this process was less reversible in laboratory-amended soils, except for diuron in amended sandy soil. Addition of alperujo to soils increased half-lives of the herbicides in most of the soils. Diuron and terbuthylazine leached through unamended sandy soil, but no herbicide was detected in laboratory-amended soil. Diuron did not leach through amended or unamended silty clay soil, whereas small amounts of terbuthylazine were detected in leachates from unamended soil. Despite their higher sorption capacity, greater amounts of terbuthylazine were found in the leachates from amended silty clay soils. The amounts of dissolved organic matter from alperujo and the degree of humification can affect sorption, degradation, and leaching of these two classes of herbicides in soils. It appears that adding alperujo to soil would not have adverse impacts on the behavior of herbicides in olive production.     

Changes in the microbial activity in a soil amended with oak and pine residues and treated with linuron herbicide

This work studies the effects of wood amendments on soil microbial community functioning and on the potential of this community for linuron degradation. For this purpose, soil dehydrogenase activity and the number of live bacteria, which represent broad scale measurements of the activity and viability of soil organisms, were assessed in soil treated with linuron and either amended with pine or oak wood or unamended (sterilized and non-sterilized). The overall results show that the microbial community had a significant role in linuron degradation. The linuron half-life values indicated a slower degradation rate in pine and oak amended soils than in unamended ones. This is attributed both to the higher sorption of linuron by these soils compared to the unamended ones and a consequent lower bioavailability of the herbicide for microbial degradation, and to the use of the pine and oak as an alternative carbon source by degrading microorganisms. Linuron did not affect the microbial community in terms of dehydrogenase activity and number of live bacteria, presumably because it had adapted to the herbicide. However, the dehydrogenase activity was significantly higher in the soils amended with pine or oak than in the non-amended ones, indicating that the presence of a carbon source favoured the overall bacterial community.     

Effects of solid olive-mill waste addition to soil on sorption, degradation and leaching of the herbicide simazine

Abstract. A laboratory study was conducted to investigate the effects of adding an intermediary byproduct of olive oil extraction ( alperujo or solid olive-mill waste, SOMW) on the sorption, degradation and leaching of the herbicide simazine in a sandy loam soil. The effect of SOMW addition on soil porosity was also assessed. The soil was amended in the laboratory with SOMW at two different rates (5% and 10% w/w). Simazine sorption isotherms showed a great increase in herbicide sorption after SOMW addition to soil; sorption increased with the amount of SOMW added. Incubation studies showed extended persistence by reduced biodegradation of simazine in the soil amended with SOMW compared with the unamended soil. Although the addition of SOMW to soil increased the total porosity, breakthrough curves of simazine in handpacked soil columns showed that SOMW addition retarded the vertical movement of the herbicide through the soil and reduced the total amount of herbicide leached. It appeared that the longer residence time of simazine in the amended soil columns (>20 days) compared with that in the unamended soil column (<20 days) allowed enhanced degradation and/or irreversible sorption under column leaching conditions. The results revealed important changes in herbicide behaviour upon SOMW addition, confirming the need to assess these changes in order to optimize the combined use of organic wastes and soil-applied pesticides.     

Raw or incubated olive-mill wastes and its biotransformed products as agricultural soil amendments-effect on sorption-desorption of triazine herbicides

Raw olive-mill waste and soil amendments obtained from their traditional composting or vermicomposting were added, at rates equivalent to 200 Mg ha-1, to a calcareous silty clay loam soil in a laboratory test, in order to improve its fertility and physicochemical characteristics. In particular, the effects on the sorption-desorption processes of four triazine herbicides have been examined. We found that comparatively hydrophobic herbicides terbuthylazine and prometryn increased their retention on amended soil whereas the more polar herbicides simazine and cyanazine were less affected. Soil application of olive cake, without transformation, resulted in the highest herbicide retention. Its relatively high content in aliphatic fractions and lipids could explain the increased herbicide retention through hydrophobic bonding and herbicide diffusion favored by poorly condensed macromolecular structures. On the other hand, the condensed aromatic structure of the compost and vermicompost from olive cake could hinder diffusion processes, resulting in lower herbicide sorption. In fact, the progressive humification in soil of olive-mill solid waste led to a decrease of sorption capacity, which suggested important changes in organic matter quality and interactions during the mineralization process. When soil amended with vermicompost was incubated for different periods of time, the enhanced herbicide sorption capacity persisted for 2 months. Pesticide desorption was reduced by the addition of fresh amendments but was enhanced during the transformation process of amendments in soil. Our results indicate the potential of soil amendments based on olive-mill wastes in the controlled, selective release of triazine herbicides, which varies depending on the maturity achieved by their biological transformation.     

Sorption-desorption isotherms and biodegradation of glyphosate in two tropical soils aged with eucalyptus biochar

ABSTRACT

The objective of this study was to evaluate the sorption-desorption process and biodegradation of glyphosate in two tropical soils aged with biochar derived from eucalyptus. The biochar aging period was 30 d. There was little difference between the amounts of sorbed glyphosate in Ultisol (96.8, 96.8 and 96.4%) and Alfisol (97.1, 97.5 and 97.4%) soils that were unamended or amended with biochar aged for 0 or 30 d, respectively. Similar amounts of desorbed herbicide occurred in Ultisol (3.3, 3.3 and 3.4%) and Alfisol (4.1, 4.2 and 3.9%) soils, respectively. The degradation time half-life (DT50) of glyphosate in Ultisol unamended and initial amended were higher (38 and 36 d, respectively) than DT50 in the amended soil with 30 d of biochar aging (27 d); and in the Alfisol DT50 was higher in unamended soil (38 d), and similar in soil unamended at 0 and 30 d of biochar aging (21 and 26 d, respectively). The addition of biochar to two tropical soils or its aging did not have any effect on the sorption and desorption of glyphosate and its biodegradation in relation to the unamended soils, and it can did not affect the transport and persistence of this herbicide in soil.     

Retention of copper by a calcareous soil and its textural fractions: influence of amendment with two agroindustrial residues

Metal availability in soils is strongly related with sorption processes and the possible association of the metal ions with a particular particle-size fraction. Therefore, studies of metal retention by a soil will be aided if retention by different size fractions is also studied. Sorption of copper on a calcareous soil and its textural fractions was studied in batch assays. The soil was amended over 3 years with two agroindustrial residues, a composted olive mill sludge and vinasse. Sorption of Cu on the calcareous soil was very large (110 mmol kg⁻¹) and was enhanced by both amendments. Metal retention by the clay fraction of the unamended soil was less than that of the whole soil, but increased dramatically after amendment with olive mill sludge. This was caused by the larger calcite content in this fraction as well as the increase in organic matter content. The amount of Cu sorbed was very large in the silt fraction, again because of the carbonate content of this fraction (300–460 g kg⁻¹). Copper sorption decreased dramatically after removal of carbonate. Copper retention tended to be enhanced by organic amendments. This was particularly evident in the silt fraction, as a consequence of the organic matter accumulation in this fraction.
Copper sorption on the calcareous soil and its silt fractions (unamended and amended) was irreversible. By contrast, desorption was measurable from all the carbonate-free samples (both whole soil and textural fractions), although in all cases a large hysteresis was observed. We conclude that carbonate was the main component responsible for the lack of reversibility.     

Availability of triazine herbicides in aged soils amended with olive oil mill waste

Amendments are frequently added to agricultural soils to increase organic matter content. In this study, we examined the influence of alperujo, an olive oil mill waste, on the availability of two triazine herbicides, terbuthylazine and atrazine, in two different sandy soils, one from Sevilla, Spain, and the other from Minnesota. The effect of aging on herbicide sorption and bioavailability was also studied. Soils were amended with alperujo at a rate of 3-5% (w:w) in laboratory studies. Apparent sorption coefficients for the triazine herbicides were calculated as the ratio of the concentrations of each herbicide sequentially extracted with water, followed by aqueous methanol, at each sampling time. These data showed greater sorption of terbuthylazine and atrazine in amended soils as compared to nonamended soils, and an increase in the amount of herbicide sorbed with increasing aging time in nonamended soils. The triazine-mineralizing bacterium Pseudomonas sp. strain ADP was used to characterize triazine bioavailability. Less mineralization of the herbicides by Pseudomonas sp. strain ADP was observed in soils amended with alperujo, as compared to the unamended soils, and, despite the increase in sorption with aging in unamended soils, herbicide mineralization also increased in this case. This has been attributed to Pseudomonas sp. strain ADP first using alperujo as a more readily available source of N as compared to the parent triazines. In summary, addition of alperujo to the soils studied was shown to increase triazine herbicides sorption and hence to reduce its availability and potential to leach.     

Dissipation of fungicides in a vineyard soil amended with different spent mushroom substrates

The degradation kinetics and formation of metabolites for fungicides of different chemical classes (iprovalicarb, metalaxyl, penconazole, and pyrimethanil) and determination of bound residues for metalaxyl and penconazole were studied in both an unamended vineyard soil and in the same soil amended with two spent mushroom substrates (composted (C-SMS1) and fresh (F-SMS2)). The degradation kinetics was fitted to single first-order or first-order multicompartment patterns. Degradation rates decreased in C-SMS1-amended soils for all fungicides as compared to unamended soil, but in F-SMS2-amended soils, they decreased only for iprovalicarb and penconazole. The DT(50) values were higher by up to 1.8 (metalaxyl), 3.8 (pyrimethanil), 4.1 (iprovalicarb), and >1000 (penconazole) times in the soil plus C-SMS1 compared to those for soil plus F-SMS2 or unamended soil. The dissipation mechanism recorded the highest mineralization in the unamended soil for (14)C-metalaxyl and (14)C-penconazole, with the highest formation of nonextractable residues in the F-SMS2-amended soil for (14)C-metalaxyl. The results are consistent with (1) the chemical characteristics of each SMS (total and soluble organic carbon) controlling sorption and the bioavailability of fungicides and (2) the microbial activity of SMS-amended soils, which affects fungicide biodegradation. The findings of this work highlight the potential of SMS amendments with different characteristics to decrease or increase the degradation rate of a fungicide in a vineyard soil.     

Comparative sorption and leaching study of the herbicides fluometuron and 4-chloro-2-methylphenoxyacetic acid (MCPA) in a soil amended with biochars and other sorbents

Biochar, the solid residual remaining after the thermochemical transformation of biomass for carbon sequestration, has been proposed to be used as a soil amendment, because of its agronomic benefits. The effect of amending soil with six biochars made from different feedstocks on the sorption and leaching of fluometuron and 4-chloro-2-methylphenoxyacetic acid (MCPA) was compared to the effect of other sorbents: an activated carbon, a Ca-rich Arizona montmorillonite modified with hexadecyltrimethylammonium organic cation (SA-HDTMA), and an agricultural organic residue from olive oil production (OOW). Soil was amended at 2% (w/w), and studies were performed following a batch equilibration procedure. Sorption of both herbicides increased in all amended soils, but decreased in soil amended with a biochar produced from macadamia nut shells made with fast pyrolysis. Lower leaching of the herbicides was observed in the soils amended with the biochars with higher surface areas BC5 and BC6 and the organoclay (OCl). Despite the increase in herbicide sorption in soils amended with two hardwood biochars (BC1 and BC3) and OOW, leaching of fluometuron and MCPA was enhanced with the addition of these amendments as compared to the unamended soil. The increased leaching is due to some amendments' soluble organic compounds, which compete or associate with herbicide molecules, enhancing their soil mobility. Thus, the results indicate that not all biochar amendments will increase sorption and decrease leaching of fluometuron and MCPA. Furthermore, the amount and composition of the organic carbon (OC) content of the amendment, especially the soluble part (DOC), can play an important role in the sorption and leaching of these herbicides.     

Changes in the sorption–desorption of fungicides over time in an amended sandy clay loam soil under laboratory conditions

Purpose

The aim of this work was to study the temporal changes in the sorption?Cdesorption of fungicides in a sandy clay loam soil amended with spent mushroom substrate (SMS) under controlled laboratory conditions and the influence that fungicides properties and soil characteristics have on these processes. Soil amendment with SMS is becoming a widespread management practice since it can effectively solve the problems of uncontrolled SMS accumulation and disposal and improve soil quality. However, when simultaneously applied with pesticides, SMS can significantly modify the environmental behaviour of these compounds.

Materials and methods

Sorption?Cdesorption isotherms of metalaxyl, penconazole, pyrimethanil and iprovalicarb for unamended and amended vineyard soils from La Rioja (Spain) were obtained. Composted SMS (C-SMS) and fresh SMS (F-SMS) from cultivation of different mushrooms were used as amendments at 2?% and 10?% rates. Soil parameters (organic carbon (OC), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), humic acid (HA) and fulvic acid (FA)) and sorption (Kf, nf, Kd, Koc) and desorption (Kfd, nfd, H) parameters of fungicides were determined over 0, 6 and 12?months of soil incubation with SMS under controlled conditions.

Results and discussion

Addition of amendments to soil increased soil sorption capacity of fungicides. Kd values increased with the hydrophobic character of fungicides (metalaxyl?<?iprovalicarb?<?pyrimethanil?<?penconazole) at both amendment rates. The lower content of DOC and the higher degree of OC humification enhanced sorption of all fungicides by the soil?+?C-SMS with regard to the soil?+?F-SMS. In general, sorption of fungicides decreased after 6 and 12?months of soil?+?SMS incubation, although the humification degree of the remaining OC expressed by HA/FA increased. This might indicate that the OC content was more important for fungicide sorption than the changes in its nature with the incubation time. SMS addition favoured desorption of metalaxyl and iprovalicarb, in general, whereas irreversible sorption of penconazole and pyrimethanil increased. However, the opposite trends were observed when the soil?+ SMS incubation time increased.

Conclusions

The results show an increase in sorption of all fungicides by amending soil with composted or fresh SMS. However, desorption of fungicides increases or decreases depending on the properties of fungicides and soil?+ SMS. Changes in both processes with the incubation time are more related to the OC content of the amended soil than to the evolution of its nature. These outcomes are of interest for extending SMS application to soil with minimal or no environmental risk when used simultaneously with fungicides.     

Sorption-desorption of "aged" sulfonylaminocarbonyltriazolinone herbicides in soil

Sorption-desorption interactions of pesticides with soil determine the availability of pesticides in soil for transport, plant uptake, and microbial degradation. These interactions are affected by the physical and chemical properties of the pesticide and soil, and for some pesticides, their residence time in the soil. The objective of this study was to characterize sorption-desorption of two sulfonylaminocarbonyltriazolinone herbicides incubated in soils at different soil moisture potentials. The chemicals were incubated in clay loam and loamy sand soils for up to 12 wks at -33 kPa and at water contents equivalent to 50 and 75% of that at -33 kPa. Chemicals were extracted sequentially with 0.01 N CaCl(2) and aqueous acetonitrile, and sorption coefficients were calculated. Sufficient sulfonylaminocarbonyltriazolinone herbicides remained (>40% of that applied) during incubation to allow calculation of sorption coefficients. Aging significantly increased sorption as indicated by increased sorption coefficients. For instance, for sulfonylaminocarbonyltriazolinone remaining after a 12-wk incubation at -33 kPa, K(d) increased by a factor of 4.5 in the clay loam soils and by 6.6 in the loamy sand as compared to freshly treated soils. There was no effect of moisture potential on sorption K(d) values. These data show the importance of characterization of sorption-desorption in aged herbicide residues in soil, particularly in the case of prediction of herbicide transport in soil. In this case, potential transport of sulfonylaminocarbonyltriazolinone herbicides would be over-predicted if freshly treated soil K(d) values were used to predict transport.     

Influence of Nitrogen Addition and Plant Root Parameters on Phytoremediation of Pyrene-contaminated Soil

Phytoremediation is a method in which plants, soil microorganisms, amendments, and agronomic techniques interact to enhance contaminant degradation. We hypothesized that bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon L) and an appropriate amount of N fertilizer would improve remediation of pyrene-contaminated Captina silt loam soil. The soil was contaminated with 0 or 1,000 mg pyrene/kg of soil and amended with urea at pyrene-C:urea-N (C:N) ratios of 4.5:1, 9:1, 18:1, or unamended (36:1). Either zero, one, two, or three bermudagrass sprigs were planted per pot and ?33 kPa moisture potential was maintained. Pyrene concentrations, inorganic-N levels, shoot and root parameters, and pyrene degrader microbial numbers were measured following a 100-day greenhouse study. At a C:N ratio of 4.5:1, the presence of plants increased pyrene biodegradation from 31% for the no plant treatment to a mean of 62% for the one, two, and three plant treatments. With no plants and C:N ratios of 4.5:1, 9:1, 18:1, and 36:1, the mean pyrene biodegradation was 31, 52, 77, and 88%, respectively, indicating that increased inorganic-N concentration in the soil reduced pyrene degradation in the treatments without plants. Additionally, none of the one, two, or three plant treatments at any of the C:N ratios were different with a mean pyrene degradation value of 69% after 100 days. Pyrene resulted in reduced shoot and root biomass, root length, and root surface area, but increased root diameter. The pyrene degrading microbial numbers were approximately 10,000-fold higher in the pyrene-contaminated soil compared to the control. At the highest N rate, bermudagrass increased pyrene degradation compared to the no plant treatment, however, in the unvegetated treatment pyrene degradation was reduced with added N.     

Lumbricid macrofauna alter atrazine mineralization and sorption in a silt loam soil

Atrazine is a widely used herbicide and is often a contaminant in terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems. It is uncertain, however, how the activity of soil macrofauna affects atrazine fate and transport. Therefore, we investigated whether earthworms enhance atrazine biodegradation by stimulating herbicide degrading soil microflora, or if they increase atrazine persistence by facilitating herbicide sorption. Short (43 d) and medium term (86 d) effects of the earthworms Lumbricus terrestris and Aporrectodea caliginosa on mineralization, distribution, and sorption of U-ring-¹⁴C atrazine and on soil C mineralization was quantified in packed-soil microcosms using silt loam soil. A priming effect (stimulation of soil C mineralization) caused by atrazine supply was shown that likely lowered the earthworm net effect on soil C mineralization in atrazine-treated soil microcosms. Although earthworms significantly increased soil microbial activity, they reduced atrazine mineralization to ¹⁴CO₂-C from15.2 to 11.7% at 86 d. Earthworms facilitated formation of non-extractable atrazine residues within C-rich soil microsites that they created by burrowing and ingesting soil and organic matter. Atrazine sorption was highest in their gut contents and higher in casts than in burrow linings. Also, gut contents exhibited the highest formation of bound atrazine residues (non-extractable atrazine). Earthworms also promoted a deeper and patchier distribution of atrazine in the soil. This contributed to greater leaching losses of atrazine in microcosms amended with earthworms (3%) than in earthworm-free microcosms (0.003%), although these differences were not significant due to high variability in transport from earthworm-amended microcosms. Our results indicated that earthworms, mainly by casting activity, facilitated atrazine sorption, which increased atrazine persistence. As a consequence, this effect overrode any increase in atrazine biodegradation due to stimulation of microbial activity by earthworms. It is concluded that the affect of earthworms of atrazine mineralization is time-dependent, mineralization being slightly enhanced in the short term and subsequently reduced in the medium term.     

Environmental fate of two sulfonamide antimicrobial agents in soil

Veterinary antimicrobial agents have been detected in a number of environmental samples, including agricultural soils. In this study, we investigated the persistence and sorption of the sulfonamides sulfamethazine (SMZ) and sulfachloropyridine (SCP) in soil and their potential effects on soil microorganisms. The sulfonamides dissipated more rapidly from the silt loam soil as compared to the sandy soil. Average half-lives of SMZ and SPC among the two soils were 18.6 and 21.3 days, respectively. The presence of liquid swine slurry (5% v/w) decreased sulfonamide persistence in the silt loam soil. The lower persistence of the antimicrobials in liquid swine slurry-amended soil was likely due to higher microbial activity, as compared to unamended soil, and/or to the greater bioavailability of the sulfonamides to degrading microorganisms, as estimated by sorption isotherms. Concentrations of SMZ and SPC up to 100 microg g-1 had no effect on antimicrobial degradation rates and soil microorganisms. These studies suggest that higher sulfonamide concentrations would be necessary to affect the main processes controlling their environmental fates in soil, but at the concentrations normally found in the environment, there would be little or no effects.     

Alleviation of Soil Acidity and Aluminium Phytotoxicity in Acid Soils by Using Alkaline-Stabilised Biosolids

A pot experiment was carried out to study alleviation of soil acidity and Al toxicity by applying an alkaline-stabilised sewage sludge product (biosolids) to an acid clay sandy loam (pH 5.7) and a strongly acid sandy loam (pH 4.5). Barley (Hordeum vulgare L. cv. Forrester) was used as a test crop and was grown in the sewage sludge-amended (33.5 t sludge DM ha-1) and unamended soils. The results showed that the alkaline biosloids increased soil pH from 5.7 to 6.9 for the clay sandy loam and from 4.5 to 6.0 for the sandy loam. The sludge product decreased KCl-extractable Al from 0.1 to 0.0 cmol kg-1 for the former soil and from 4.0 to 0.1 cmol kg-1 for the latter soil. As a result, barley plants grew much better and grain yield increased greatly in the amended treatments compared with the unamended controls. These observations indicate that alkaline-stabilised biosolids can be used as a liming material for remedying Al phytotoxicity in strongly acid soils by increasing soil pH and lowering Al bioavailability.     

Accelerated Degradation of Methyl Isothiocyanate in Soil

Methyl isothiocyanate (MITC, CH₃NCS) is the primary breakdown product of metam-sodium, and a potential replacement fumigant pesticide for methyl bromide. Methyl isothiocyanate is toxic and has a high potential for volatilization, therefore, minimizing its atmospheric emission is of the utmost importance. One method to reduce fumigant emissions is to enhance their degradation by incorporating organic amendments into the soil surface. In this study we determined the combined effect of temperature and chicken manure application rate on the degradation of MITC. The degradation of MITC was significantly accelerated by both increasing temperature and amendment rate. Differences between sterile and nonsterile degradation kinetics in unamended and organically amended soil indicate that MITC degradation is equally controlled by chemical and biological processes. The amelioration of soil with organic amendments should be further considered when designing fumigation practices that allow for reduced emissions.     

Microbial Degradation of Fipronil in Clay Loam Soil

Fipronil, (±)-5-amino-1-(2,6-dichloro-∝,∝,∝-trifluoro-p-tolyl)-4-trifluoromethysulfinylpyrazole-3-carbonitrile, is used as an effective insecticide for the control of rice pests in China. Although many studies examining the fate of fipronil in the soilenvironment have been conducted, there are no studies on the microbial degradation of fipronil in the soil environment. Fipronil was degradedby microorganisms in the non-sterile clay loam soil, which resulted in the formation of metabolite, MB45950. The degradation of fipronil in non-sterile clay loam soil was mainly influenced by the soil microbes. The half-lives in non-sterile clay loam soil were 9.72 and 8.78 d at 25 and 35 °C, respectively compared to 33.51 and 32.07 d at 25 and 35 °C, respectively in the sterile soil. The microbial viability test showed that non-sterile clay loam soil had viable microorganisms throughout the experiment. Fipronil did not adversely affect the microbes once soil microbes adapted to the presence of fipronil in the clay loam soil.     

Sorption-desorption of two "aged" sulfonylaminocarbonyltriazolinone herbicide metabolites in soil

Aging (herbicide-soil contact time) has been shown to significantly affect the sorption-desorption characteristics of many herbicides, which in turn can affect the availability of the herbicide for transport, plant uptake, and microbial degradation. In contrast, very little work in this area has been done on herbicide metabolites in soil. The objective of this study was to characterize the sorption-desorption of sulfonylaminocarbonyltriazolinone herbicide metabolites incubated in soils at different soil moisture potentials. A benzenesulfonamide metabolite and a triazolinone metabolite from sulfonylaminocarbonyltriazolinone herbicides were incubated in clay loam and loamy sand soils for up to 12 weeks at -33 kPa and at water contents equivalent to 50 and 75% of that at -33 kPa. Chemicals were extracted sequentially with 0.01 N CaCl(2) and aqueous acetonitrile (solution and sorbed phase concentrations, respectively), and apparent sorption coefficients (K(d,app)) were calculated. Sufficient metabolite remained during the incubation (>55% of applied) to allow determination of the coefficients. The initial aging period (2 weeks after application) significantly increased sorption as indicated by increased K(d,app) values for the chemical remaining, after which they remained relatively constant. After 12 weeks of incubation at -33 kPa, K(d,app) values for benzenesulfonamide and triazolinone increased by a factor of 3.5 in the clay loam soil and by a factor of 5.9 in the loamy sand as compared to freshly treated soils. There was no effect of moisture potential on aged apparent K(d,app) values. These data show the importance of characterization of sorption-desorption in aged herbicide residues, including metabolites, in soil, particularly in the case of prediction of herbicide residue transport in soil. In this case, potential transport of sulfonylaminocarbonyltriazolinone herbicide metabolites would be overpredicted if freshly treated soil K(d) values were used to predict transport.     

Short-Term Impacts of Pecan Waste By-Products on Soil Quality in Texturally Different Arid Soils

Three arid soils (clay loam (CL), sandy clay (SC), and sandy loam (SL)) were amended with pecan waste products (ground pecan shells (PSHs), ground pecan husks (PHUs), and ground pecan shell biochar (PSB)), at a rate of 45 Mg/ha, packed inside cylindrical rings and kept in a humid chamber for 4 weeks. Measurements taken included volumetric moisture content as the soil dried out for 7 days, wet aggregate stability (WAS), permanganate oxidizable carbon (POXC), nitrate-nitrogen, extractable phosphorus (Olsen-P), and water-extractable potassium (K). Significant effects of soil texture, soil amendment, and their interaction were observed for all measurements. Generally, the amendments led to significant improvement in Olsen-P, K, POXC, and WAS, while amendments’ impacts on soils of different textures varied. Short-term moisture retention was dependent on soil texture, with PHU and PSB treatments having higher soil moisture retention in SL and CL soils but not in SC soil.