Efficacy and environmental fate of copper sulphate applied to Australian rice fields for control of the aquatic snail Isidorella newcombi

Copper sulphate pentahydrate (CuSO₄·5H₂O) is widely used for controlling Isidorella newcombi, an aquatic snail that causes substantial damage to rice crops in southeastern Australia. We conducted field trials on a Birganbigil clay loam soil that demonstrate high levels of efficacy against adult I. newcombi (95% mortality at 6.38 kg ha⁻¹ CuSO₄·5H₂O (1.14 mg Cu L⁻¹)). Dissolved copper fell below the detection limit (0.02 mg Cu L⁻¹) between 7 and 20 d after spraying at application rates up to 2.16 mg Cu L⁻¹ (12 kg ha⁻¹ CuSO₄·5H₂O). Total copper concentrations in the water column fell below the detection limit (0.007 mg Cu L⁻¹) 7–12 d after spraying at initially applied concentrations of 0.52–1.12 mg Cu L⁻¹, but remained detectable (0.01–0.02 mg Cu L⁻¹) until 30 days after spraying (the conclusion of monitoring) when applied at higher initial concentrations (1.18–2.16 mg Cu L⁻¹). There was a strong positive correlation (r² = 0.90, P < 0.001) between copper application rate and copper concentrations in surface sediments 30 d after spraying. Bioassays with immature snails using three different test soils beneath irrigation water showed that underlying soil type strongly influenced the response of snails to applied copper, with significant (P < 0.05) differences between LC₉₀ values which ranged from 0.41 to 1.04 mg applied Cu L⁻¹. Laboratory studies showed that dissolved copper concentrations remained significantly higher (P < 0.05) in the water column above the soil that had the most deleterious effect on copper toxicity. Dissolved organic carbon concentrations were significantly (P < 0.05) higher in both this soil and in the overlying water in the corresponding bioassay system, and correlated more closely with LC₉₀ values than other water chemistry parameters such as total hardness. Our results support the ongoing use of a variable copper application rate of 6–12 kg ha⁻¹ CuSO₄·5H₂O to allow for site-specific variations in efficacy, and suggest that variations in the release of dissolved organic carbon compounds from flooded soils may be a key factor moderating copper toxicity to I. newcombi in rice fields.