Fate of fluroxypyr in soil

Fluroxypyr-MHE (methylheptyl ester) was applied to small field plots containing Londo sandy loam soil. After 30 days, fluroxypyr had degraded to about 60% of the initial concentration, but was still the main component, while after 120 and 366 days the methoxypyridine metabolite was the main component in the soil. At 30, 120, and 366 days, lettuce, turnips, green beans, soybeans, and wheat were planted and grown with no observed injury. Residues of ¹⁴C in the edible crop fractions were indistinguishable from ¹⁴C in control plants exposed to ¹⁴CO₂, while residues in plant greens and chaff were low (0.1–0.2 mg kg^?1), with little evidence of fluroxypyr and no evidence of metabolite uptake. These results indicate that the methoxypyridine metabolite, if present in the soil, does not harm and is not taken up into the plants.