Aspects of the selective phytotoxicity of methazole. HI. Behaviour in plants following foliar treatment

Absorption of methazole by leaves of onion (Allium cepa), Stellaria media, Matricaria matricarioides and Veronica persica was rapid for the first 24 h after treatment and continued at a slower rate for up to 6 days to reach a maximum of between 35 and 60% of the amount applied. Differences in absorption between species were generally small. Absorption by the cotyledon of onion was greater than absorption into true leaves. Methazole on the leaf surface degraded to 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1-methylurea (DCPMU) and small amounts of this degraded to 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl) urea (DCPU). Methazole absorbed into leaves was relatively stable in M. matricarioides and DCPMU accumulated slowly. The rate of degradation was more rapid in the cotyledons than in the true leaves. Both in leaves and in cotyledons of onion and S. media, methazole degraded rapidly to DCPMU and this accumulated; in those of V. persica, DCPMU was degraded quickly to DCPU and unidentified products. The amount of DCPMU accumulated in the shoots was broadly correlated with the relative phytotoxicity of methazole to the different species, except for young seedlings of V. persica which contained no DCPMU but were susceptible to methazole.