Effect of the simultaneous addition of beta-cyclodextrin and the herbicide norflurazon on its adsorption and movement in soils

The effects of beta-cyclodextrin (BCD) on the sorption-desorption and transport processes of the herbicide norflurazon (NFL) in soils of different characteristics when both are applied simultaneously have been investigated. Adsorption-desorption studies of NFL on six soils of very different characteristics in the presence of BCD have been performed using a batch equilibration method and correlated to its mobility in homogeneous hand-packed soil columns. NFL determinations were undertaken by HPLC equipped with a diode array detector at a wavelength of 220 nm. BCD was also analyzed by HPLC with fluorimetric detection using a postcolumn reaction. The interaction of NFL with BCD yielded the formation of an inclusion complex in solution. When this complex is applied to soils, a large decrease in NFL adsorption capacity and an increase in its desorption were observed, due to the higher tendency of NFL-BCD complexes to remain in solution. The results obtained in adsorption and soil column experiments indicated that the influence of BCD on NFL mobility and availability depends on the different affinities of BCD to be sorbed on soils of different characteristics and on the concentration of BCD used. The lower the concentration of BCD added, the more tenaciously it adheres to the soil, and most of the BCD molecules would be adsorbed, providing a coating to soil particles that acts as a bridge between NFL and the soil surface, acting as an adsorbent and retarding the mobility of the herbicide. At higher concentrations of BCD, or in soils where its adsorption is very low, most of the BCD molecules are in the aqueous phase and NFL molecules tend to be complexed with BCD in solution, acting then as a solubilizing agent.