The effect of nutrients on the decomposition of the herbicides atrazine and linuron incubated with soil

The rates of disappearance of atrazine and linuron when incubated at 22°C with soil or soil containing added nutrient materials were determined with 2 contrasting soils. Inorganic salts, straw or a combination of both increased atrazine degradation in both soils. None of the treatments influenced linuron breakdown greatly. It is concluded that in these soils the rate limiting step in atrazine degradation could be microbiological, not chemical.