Effects of repeated glyphosate applications on soil microbial community composition and the mineralization of glyphosate

Background: Repeated applications may have a greater impact on the soil microbial community than a single application of glyphosate. Experiments were conducted to study the effect of one, two, three, four or five applications of glyphosate on soil microbial community composition and glyphosate mineralization and distribution of ¹⁴C residues in soil. RESULTS: Fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) common to gram‐negative bacteria were present in higher concentrations following five applications relative to one, two, three or four applications both 7 and 14 days after application (DAA). Additionally, sequencing of 16S rRNA bacterial genes indicated that the abundance of the gram‐negative Burkholderia spp. was increased following the application of glyphosate. The cumulative percentage ¹⁴C mineralized 14 DAA was reduced when glyphosate was applied 4 or 5 times relative to the amount of ¹⁴C mineralized following one, two or three applications. Incorporation of ¹⁴C residues into soil microbial biomass was greater following five glyphosate applications than following the first application 3 and 7 DAA. CONCLUSION: These studies suggest that the changes in the dissipation or distribution of glyphosate following repeated applications of glyphosate may be related to shifts in the soil microbial community composition. Copyright © 2009 Society of Chemical Industry     

Mineralization of [14C] glyphosate and its plant-associated residues in arable soils originating from different farming systems

The biomineralization of [¹⁴C]glyphosate, both in the free state and as ¹⁴C-residues associated with soybean cell-wall material, was studied in soil samples from four different agricultural farming systems. After 26 days, [¹⁴C]carbon dioxide production from free glyphosate accounted for 34–51% of the applied radiocarbon, and 45–55% was recovered from plant-associated residues. For three soils, the cumulative [¹⁴C]carbon dioxide production from free glyphosate was positively correlated with soil microbial biomass, determined by substrate-induced heat output measurement and by total adenylate content. The fourth soil, originating from a former hop plantation, and containing high concentrations of copper from long-term fungicide applications, did not fit this correlation but showed a significantly higher [¹⁴C]carbon dioxide production per unit of microbial biomass. Although the cumulative [¹⁴C]carbon dioxide production from plant-associated ¹⁴C-residues after 26 days was as high as from the free compound, it was not correlated with the soil microbial biomass. This indicates that the biodegradation of plant-associated herbicide residues, in contrast to that of the free compound, involves different degradation processes. These encompass either additional steps to degrade the plant matrix, presumably performed by different soil organisms, or fewer degradation steps since the plant-associated herbicide residues are likely to consist mainly of easily degradable metabolites. Moreover, the bioavailability of plant-associated pesticide residues seems to be dominated by the type and strength of their fixation in the plant matrix. ©1997 SCI     

草甘膦水剂在抗草甘膦转基因大豆田除草效果及安全性研究

采用田间试验,研究了41%草甘膦水剂在抗草甘膦转基因大豆田使用的除草效果和抗草甘膦大豆的安全性。结果表明,41%草甘膦水剂对大豆田主要杂草马唐、反枝苋和铁苋菜等均有理想防效,药后30 d,41%草甘膦水剂1 537.5 g a.i./hm2剂量下对大豆田杂草防效达90%以上。41%草甘膦水剂对4种抗除草剂大豆材料（356043、87701RR2Y、06-698和07-1568）安全性较好,在922.5～2 460.0 g a.i./hm2剂量范围内,上述大豆材料无药害症状,其株高、复叶数、每荚粒数及百粒重均没有降低。与不用药对照相比,上述材料施用41%草甘膦水剂后增产显著。     

不同生育期转基因抗草甘膦抗虫棉花对草甘膦的耐受性

为明确转基因抗草甘膦抗虫棉田草甘膦的使用适期,于棉花子叶期、3~4片真叶期和花铃期喷施不同浓度的草甘膦,比较药害发生情况、棉花产量和纤维品质。棉花子叶期、3~4片真叶期和花铃期喷施1 640~9 840 g/hm²(有效成分,下同)草甘膦后,施药初期棉花均表现出一定的药害症状,药后4~8 d药害株率和药害指数达最大值,药后12 d药害症状逐渐减轻或消失。棉花子叶期和3~4片真叶期喷施草甘膦,对棉花产量无显著影响,但棉花花铃期喷施2 460~9 840 g/hm²草甘膦后,棉花产量显著降低,降幅达35.0%~63.3%。3个时期喷施草甘膦均不影响棉花的纤维品质。研究表明,转基因抗草甘膦抗虫棉田草甘膦的使用适期为棉花苗期。     

Simulating evolution of glyphosate resistance in Lolium rigidum I: population biology of a rare resistance trait

Despite frequent use for the past 25 years, resistance to glyphosate has evolved in few weed biotypes. The propensity for evolution of resistance is not the same for all herbicides, and glyphosate has a relatively low resistance risk. The reasons for these differences are not entirely understood. A previously published two‐herbicide resistance model has been modified to explore biological and management factors that account for observed rates of evolution of glyphosate resistance. Resistance to a post‐emergence herbicide was predicted to evolve more rapidly than it did to glyphosate, even when both were applied every year and had the same control efficacy. Glyphosate is applied earlier in the growing season when fewer weeds have emerged and hence exerts less selection pressure on populations. The evolution of glyphosate resistance was predicted to arise more rapidly when glyphosate applications were later in the growing season. In simulations that assumed resistance to the post‐emergence herbicide did not evolve, the evolution of glyphosate resistance was less rapid, because post‐emergence herbicides were effectively controlling rare glyphosate‐resistant individuals. On their own, these management‐related factors could not entirely account for rates of evolution of resistance to glyphosate observed in the field. In subsequent analyses, population genetic parameter values (initial allele frequency, dominance and fitness) were selected on the basis of empirical data from a glyphosate‐resistant Lolium rigidum population. Predicted rates of evolution of resistance were similar to those observed in the field. Together, the timing of glyphosate applications, the rarity of glyphosate‐resistant mutants, the incomplete dominance of glyphosate‐resistant alleles and pleiotropic fitness costs associated with glyphosate resistance, all contribute to its relatively slow evolution in the field.     

Glyphosate-resistant horseweed made sensitive to glyphosate: low-temperature suppression of glyphosate vacuolar sequestration revealed by 31P NMR

BACKGROUND: Horseweed has been the most invasive glyphosate‐resistant (GR) weed, spreading to 16 states in the United States and found on five continents. The authors have previously reported that GR horseweed employs rapid vacuolar sequestration of glyphosate, presumably via a tonoplast transporter, substantively to reduce cytosolic glyphosate concentrations. 1 It was hypothesized that glyphosate sequestration was the herbicide resistance mechanism. If resistance is indeed endowed by glyphosate sequestration, suppression of sequestration offers the potential for controlling GR horseweed at normal herbicide field‐use rates. RESULTS: Low‐temperature ³¹P NMR experiments performed in vivo with GR cold‐acclimated horseweed showed markedly suppressed vacuolar accumulation of glyphosate even 3 days after glyphosate treatment. [In stark contrast, 85% of the visible glyphosate was sequestered 24 h after spraying warm‐acclimated GR horseweed.] Cold‐acclimated GR horseweed treated at normal use rates and maintained at low temperature succumbed to the lethal effects of glyphosate over a 40 day period. Treatment of GR horseweed in the field when temperatures were cooler showed the predicted positive herbicidal response. CONCLUSIONS: Low temperature markedly diminishes vacuolar sequestration of glyphosate in the GR horseweed biotype, yielding a herbicide response equivalent to that of the sensitive biotype. This supports the recent hypothesis 1 that glyphosate sequestration is the resistance mechanism employed by GR horseweed. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry     

Benchmark study on glyphosate-resistant cropping systems in the United States. Part 4: Weed management practices and effects on weed populations and soil seedbanks

BACKGROUND: Weed management in glyphosate‐resistant (GR) maize, cotton and soybean in the United States relies almost exclusively on glyphosate, which raises criticism for facilitating shifts in weed populations. In 2006, the benchmark study, a field‐scale investigation, was initiated in three different GR cropping systems to characterize academic recommendations for weed management and to determine the level to which these recommendations would reduce weed population shifts. RESULTS: A majority of growers used glyphosate as the only herbicide for weed management, as opposed to 98% of the academic recommendations implementing at least two herbicide active ingredients and modes of action. The additional herbicides were applied with glyphosate and as soil residual treatments. The greater herbicide diversity with academic recommendations reduced weed population densities before and after post‐emergence herbicide applications in 2006 and 2007, particularly in continuous GR crops. CONCLUSION: Diversifying herbicides reduces weed population densities and lowers the risk of weed population shifts and the associated potential for the evolution of glyphosate‐resistant weeds in continuous GR crops. Altered weed management practices (e.g. herbicides or tillage) enabled by rotating crops, whether GR or non‐GR, improves weed management and thus minimizes the effectiveness of only using chemical tactics to mitigate weed population shifts. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry     

Rice (Oryza sativa) response to drift rates of glyphosate

Greenhouse and field studies were conducted to investigate response of two rice varieties, Priscilla and Cocodrie, to sub-lethal rates of glyphosate in terms of injury, shikimate accumulation and yield. In the greenhouse, more shikimate accumulated in Cocodrie than Priscilla at comparable glyphosate rates applied to plants at the three-leaf stage. In field studies, glyphosate was applied to both varieties when they were 74-cm tall and in the internode separation growth stage. Visual injury, plant height, and leaf-tissue samples for shikimate analysis were collected at 3, 7, 14, 21 and 28 days after treatment (DAT). Rice yield was also determined. Noticeable visual injury and height reduction to both varieties was observed as early as 7 and 3 DAT in Cocodrie and Priscilla, respectively. Shikimate levels in leaves began to increase in both varieties by 3 DAT in a dose-dependent manner and reached a peak between 7 and 14 DAT. Elevated shikimate levels were still detectable by 28 DAT. Similar levels of shikimate accumulated in both varieties at comparable glyphosate rates. However, glyphosate treatment at comparable rates reduced rice yields more in Cocodrie than in Priscilla. The highest rate of glyphosate reduced yield in Cocodrie by 92% whereas there was only a 60% yield reduction in Priscilla. Shikimate levels in glyphosate-treated rice were strongly correlated to yield reductions across both varieties and appeared to be a better predictor of yield reduction than was visual injury. Visual injury coupled with measured shikimate levels can be used collaboratively to identify glyphosate exposure and estimate subsequent rice yield reductions.     

Interaction of a bioherbicide and glyphosate for controlling hemp sesbania in glyphosate-resistant soybean

The bioherbicidal fungus, Colletotrichum truncatum (Schwein.) Andrus & Moore, was tested at different inoculum concentrations alone and in combination with, prior to or following treatment with different rates of glyphosate ( N -[phosphonomethyl]glycine) (Roundup Ultra) for the control of hemp sesbania ( Sesbania exaltata [Raf.] Rydb. ex A.W. Hill) in Roundup Ready soybean field plots. Colletotrichum truncatum and glyphosate were applied in all pair-wise combinations of 0, 1.25, 2.5, 5.0, and 10.0 × 10⁶ spores mL⁻¹ (i.e. 3.125, 6.25, 12.5, and 25 × 10¹¹ spores ha⁻¹), and 0.15, 0.30, 0.60, and 1.2 kg ha⁻¹, respectively. Weed control and disease incidence were enhanced at the two lowest fungal and herbicidal rates when the fungal spores were applied after glyphosate treatment. The application of the fungus in combination with or prior to glyphosate application at 0.30 kg ha⁻¹ resulted in reduced disease incidence and weed control regardless of the inoculum's concentration. At the highest glyphosate rates, the weeds were controlled by the herbicide alone. These results suggest that it might be possible to utilize additive or synergistic herbicide and pathogen interactions to enhance hemp sesbania control.     

转基因耐草甘膦大豆对豆田节肢动物群落多样性的影响

在田间试验条件下,采用直接观察法,通过对多样性指数、优势集中性指数、均匀性指数、物种数的分析比较,研究转基因耐草甘膦大豆对豆田节肢动物群落多样性的影响。结果显示,大豆生长期转基因耐草甘膦大豆和受体的节肢动物多样性指数、均匀性指数、物种数均显著低于当地常规品种,优势集中性指数显著高于当地常规品种,但转基因抗草甘膦大豆与对照受体间各指标无显著性差异,说明转基因耐草甘膦大豆对豆田节肢动物群落无明显影响。     

草甘膦对七种作物的安全性

本文对草甘膦喷施土壤后对作物的安全性进行了初步研究。采用室内盆栽的方法,测定了不同剂量的35%草甘膦水剂在壤土和砂土条件下对小麦Triticum aestivum L.、玉米Zea mays L.、大豆Glycine max(L.) Merr.、甘蓝Brassica oleracea var.capitata L.、小白菜Brassica pekinensis L.、番茄Lycopersicon esculentum L.和茄子Solanum melongena L.等7种作物的叶色、叶长、叶宽、植株鲜重和光合作用等生长、生理指标的影响。研究结果表明：在标签剂量(1 575 g/hm~2)下施用于壤土时,草甘膦对茄子的叶长和叶宽影响显著,对其他6种作物的各测定指标未产生显著影响;在砂土条件使用时,除对小麦和茄子的叶色、番茄的叶宽、小白菜和番茄的鲜重方面有显著影响外,对玉米、大豆和甘蓝都安全。在2倍标签剂量(3 150 g/hm~2)下,在壤土和砂土条件下使用时,除对茄子在叶色、叶长、叶宽和鲜重4个指标都有显著影响外,对番茄的光合效率也有显著影响,同时对其他作物的其他指标也有不同的影响,...     

Flat fan and air induction nozzles affect soybean herbicide efficacy

Fifteen field experiments were conducted from 2002 to 2005 to determine the influence of the nozzle type, spray volume, spray pressure, and herbicide rate on herbicidal efficacy in soybean. There was no effect of the nozzle type on herbicidal efficacy with fomesafen, bentazon, glyphosate, and cloransulam‐methyl when applied at the manufacturer's recommended rate. The control of Echinochloa crus‐galli (barnyardgrass) with quizalofop‐p‐ethyl was improved when applied with flat fan (FF) nozzles compared with air induction (AI) nozzles. There was an increase in weed control with the FF nozzles compared with the AI nozzles in four of the 13 comparisons when the herbicides were applied at half the recommended rate, while in two situations, application with the AI nozzles resulted in improved weed control. With the FF nozzles, there was no effect of the water carrier volume on weed control with bentazon, glyphosate, and cloransulam‐methyl. The control of Abutilon theophrasti (velvetleaf) and Chenopodium album (common lambsquarters) with fomesafen and E. crus‐galli with quizalofop‐p‐ethyl was improved at the higher water carrier volume. With the AI nozzles, the control of A. theophrasti and Ambrosia artemisiifolia (common ragweed) with fomesafen and E. crus‐galli with quizalofop‐p‐ethyl was improved at the higher water carrier volume, while the control of A. theophrasti and Polygonum persicaria (ladysthumb) was improved with glyphosate at the lower water carrier volume. With the AI nozzles, the control of C. album with bentazon and E. crus‐galli with quizalofop‐p‐ethyl was improved at the higher spray pressure. There was no effect of the nozzle type on the soybean yield with glyphosate, cloransulam‐methyl, and quizalofop‐p‐ethyl. The use of the FF nozzles compared with the AI nozzles to apply fomesafen and bentazon increased the soybean yield by 6 and 7%, respectively. Based on this study, the optimum nozzle type, water carrier volume, and spray pressure is herbicide‐ and weed species‐specific.     

The Effect on Soil Fertility of Repeated Applications of Pesticides over 20 Years

Concern has been expressed that repeated use of pesticides may be leading to accumulation of residues in soil and to damaging effects on the environment. A long-term experiment, known as the Chemical Reference Plots, was started in 1974 on a silty clay loam soil at Rothamsted in which plots received applications of up to five pesticides (aldicarb, benomyl, chlorfenvinphos, glyphosate and chlorotoluron or triadimefon), each plot receiving the same treatment annually for up to 20 years. Spring barley was grown each year, and its yield was taken as an indicator of soil fertility. The glyphosate and triadimefon were applied to the autumn stubble prior to ploughing from growing seasons 1980 and 1982 respectively, chlorotoluron was sprayed pre-emergence (1974 and 1976 only) and the other compounds were incorporated into the soil in spring immediately before sowing (1974–1993 inclusive). No deleterious effects on crop productivity were observed from these pesticide applications, and no differences could be found in microbial processes in soils sampled in April 1992 save for a small increase in the amount of microbial-biomass carbon in plots receiving aldicarb. No pesticide residues could be detected in soil taken in August 1994, 17 months after the last experimental treatment. In laboratory incubations using these same soil samples, the degradation of aldicarb residues was greatly enhanced in plots that had received aldicarb for 20 years, whereas degradation rates of benomyl, chlorfenvinphos and triadimefon residues were not influenced by the treatment history.     

Applying non-steady-state compartmental analysis to investigate the simultaneous degradation of soluble and sorbed glyphosate (N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine) in four soils

The decomposition behaviour of glyphosate in four Victorian soils was investigated at two temperatures using non-steady-state compartmental analysis. At 25°C, glyphosate degradation was shown numerically to be derived from two different sources where the rate of release from each source behaved in accordance with first-order kinetics. Over the first 40 day period for each of the soils, glyphosate was derived simultaneously from the labile and non-labile phase, whilst after the first 40 days, glyphosate was derived solely from the non-labile phase. At this temperature, the amount of glyphosate partitioned into the labile phase ranged from 24·1 to 34·5%, whilst the amount partitioned into the sorbed, non-labile phase ranged from 67·2 to 74·9%. The half-lives for glyphosate within each phase was calculated and ranged from six to nine days for the labile phase to 222–835 days for the non-labile phase. Glyphosate appeared to be more strongly held in the acidic Rutherglen soil than in the alkaline soils studied, and this was thought to be related to the substantially lower pH and higher Fe content of the acidic soil. At 10°C, glyphosate was shown numerically to be derived from two different sources for two of the soils. However, for the two remaining soils, glyphosate appeared to be derived either from a single phase or from two phases at either the same rate or at differential rates where the rate of release from one phase was sufficiently fast to mask the rate of release from the other. At this temperature, more glyphosate was partitioned into the non-labile phase of the Walpeup and Rutherglen soils than at 25°C. However, the rate of release of glyphosate from this phase increased for the Walpeup soil relative to that at 25°C, but decreased substantially for the Rutherglen soil. This suggests that different mechanisms for the binding of glyphosate into the non-labile phase may exist between soils. © 1998 SCI.     

Glyphosate-resistant soybean as a weed management tool: Opportunities and challenges

Transgenic soybean, resistant to glyphosate, represents a revolutionary breakthrough in weed control technology. Transgenic soybean is the most dominant among all transgenic crops grown commercially in the world. In 2000, glyphosate-resistant (GR) soybean was planted to 25.8 million hectares globally, which amounts to 58% of the total global transgenic crop area. The United States soybean area planted with GR soybean has increased from 2% in 1996 to 68% in 2001. Glyphosate-resistant soybean as a weed management tool has provided farmers with the opportunity and flexibility to manage a broad spectrum of weeds. The use of glyphosate in GR soybean offers another alternative to manage weeds that are resistant to other herbicides. The rapid increase in GR soybean area is caused by the simplicity of using only one herbicide and a lower cost for weed control. Adoption of GR soybean has resulted in a dramatic decrease in the area treated with other herbicides. Glyphosphate-resistant soybean should not be relied on solely to the exclusion of other weed control methods, and should be used within integrated weed management systems. Over-reliance on GR soybean could lead to problems such as shifts in weed species and population, and the development of glyphosate-resistant weeds. The challenge is for soybean farmers to understand these problems, and for weed scientists to communicate with farmers that continuous use of glyphosate may diminish the opportunity of GR soybean as a weed management tool in the future.     

Integrating soil conservation practices and glyphosate-resistant crops: impacts on soil

BACKGROUND: Conservation practices often associated with glyphosate-resistant crops, e.g. limited tillage and crop cover, improve soil conditions, but only limited research has evaluated their effects on soil in combination with glyphosate-resistant crops. It is assumed that conservation practices have similar benefits to soil whether or not glyphosate-resistant crops are used. This paper reviews the impact on soil of conservation practices and glyphosate-resistant crops, and presents data from a Mississippi field trial comparing glyphosate-resistant and non-glyphosate-resistant maize (Zea mays L.) and cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) under limited tillage management. RESULTS: Results from the reduced-tillage study indicate differences in soil biological and chemical properties owing to glyphosate-resistant crops. Under continuous glyphosate-resistant maize, soils maintained greater soil organic carbon and nitrogen as compared with continuous non-glyphosate-resistant maize, but no differences were measured in continuous cotton or in cotton rotated with maize. Soil microbial community structure based on total fatty acid methyl ester analysis indicated a significant effect of glyphosate-resistant crop following 5 years of continuous glyphosate-resistant crop as compared with the non-glyphosate-resistant crop system. Results from this study, as well as the literature review, indicate differences attributable to the interaction of conservation practices and glyphosate-resistant crop, but many are transient and benign for the soil ecosystem. CONCLUSIONS: Glyphosate use may result in minor effects on soil biological/chemical properties. However, enhanced organic carbon and plant residues in surface soils under conservation practices may buffer potential effects of glyphosate. Long-term field research established under various cropping systems and ecological regions is needed for critical assessment of glyphosate-resistant crop and conservation practice interactions.     

有机硅助剂对草甘膦增效作用研究

进行了不同有机硅助剂对草甘膦防除非耕地杂草的增效试验。结果表明,有机硅Fairland 2625、Fairland 2626和Silwet 625可提高草甘膦防除非耕地杂草的速效性,杂草出现受害症状比未添加有机硅助剂的处理提前2～3 d;三种有机硅助剂对禾本科杂草的株防效与鲜重防效以及对阔叶杂草的株防效无显著影响,但均可显著增加对阔叶杂草的鲜重防效。在以草甘膦防除非耕地杂草时,建议将95%草甘膦铵盐可溶性粒剂与有机硅助剂Fairland 2625、Fairland 2626和Silwet 625按每40 g制剂添加5 ml助剂的比例推广使用。     

Benchmark study on glyphosate-resistant cropping systems in the United States. Part 3: Grower awareness, information sources, experiences and management practices regarding glyphosate-resistant weeds

BACKGROUND: A survey was conducted with nearly 1200 growers in US states (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Mississippi, Nebraska and North Carolina) in 2005 with the objective in part of determining the awareness of the potential for development of glyphosate resistance, the experience with glyphosate‐resistant (GR) weeds and the sources of information that growers had utilized for information on glyphosate resistance. Growers were asked a series of questions to determine the level of glyphosate resistance awareness and to list the sources of information used to learn about glyphosate resistance issues. RESULTS: The majority of the growers (88%) were aware of a weed's potential to evolve resistance to herbicide, while 44% were aware of state‐specific documented cases of GR weeds, and 15% reported having had personal experience with GR weeds. Among sources of information concerning glyphosate resistance issues, farm publications, dealers/retailers and university/extension were the most frequent responses (41, 17 and 14% respectively). Based on a 1‐10 effectiveness scale, growers ranked tillage the least effective practice (5.5) and using the correct label rates of herbicides at the proper timing for the size and type of weeds present the most effective practice (8.6) with respect to how effectively the practices mitigated the evolution of GR weeds. CONCLUSION: Results from this survey can be used by researchers, extension specialists and crop advisors further to bridge the information gap between growers and themselves and better to disseminate information concerning glyphosate resistance and glyphosate resistance management practices through more targeted information and information delivery methods. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry     

Evaluation of the efficacy of glyphosate plus urea phosphate in the greenhouse and the field

BACKGROUND: Glyphosate is a non‐selective, foliar‐applied, systemic herbicide that kills weeds by inhibiting the synthesis of 5‐enolpyruvylshikimate‐3‐phosphate synthase. Urea phosphate (UPP), made by the reaction of urea with phosphoric acid, was applied as an adjuvant for glyphosate in this study. Experiments in the greenhouse and the field were conducted to determine the effects of UPP by comparing the efficacies of glyphosate plus UPP, glyphosate plus 1‐aminomethanamide dihydrogen tetraoxosulfate (AMADS) and Roundup. RESULTS: The optimum concentration of UPP in glyphosate solution was 2.0% when UPP was used as an adjuvant. The ED₅₀ values for glyphosate‐UPP were 291.7 and 462.4 g AI ha^?1 in the greenhouse and the field respectively, while the values for Roundup were 448.2 and 519.6 g AI ha^?1. The ED₅₀ values at 2 weeks after treatment (WAT) and 3 WAT were lowered when UPP was used as an adjuvant in the greenhouse and field study, and the glyphosate + UPP was absorbed over a 2 week period. UPP may increase the efficacy by causing severe cuticle disruption or accelerating the initial herbicide absorption. The result also showed that UPP could reduce the binding behaviour of Ca²⁺ to glyphosate. CONCLUSION: The application of UPP as an adjuvant could increase the efficacy of glyphosate and make it possible to achieve effective control of weeds with glyphosate at lower dose. Moreover, UPP showed less causticity to spraying tools and presented less of a health hazard. Therefore, UPP is accepted as being a new, effective and environmentally benign adjuvant for glyphosate. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry     

Effects of pesticides on 1,3-β-glucanase and urease activities in soil in the presence and absence of fertilisers,lime and organic materials

The effect of four herbicides (2, 4-D, di-allate, benzoylprop-ethyl and glyphosate) and one insecticide (malathion) on 1, 3-β-glucanase and urease activities in soil was investigated in the laboratory. Concentrations equivalent to five times the recommended field application rates of the pesticides, applied as their formulations, had no effect on the activity of either enzyme, under a variety of incubation conditions, which included various moisture regimes and soil treatments. The soil enzyme systems could only be disrupted by unrealistically high dosage rates of the active ingredients (0.1–1.0 g kg^?1 of soil), Thus 1, 3-β-glucanase activity was enhanced by 2, 4-D, inhibited by di-allate, benzoylprop-ethyl and malathion, but unaffected by glyphosate; whereas urease activity was inhibited by 2, 4-D, but unaffected by di-allate, benzoylprop-ethyl and glyphosate.