THE STABILITY OF HEXOESTROL IN SOIL AND ITS UPTAKE BY PLANTS

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Abstract
SUMMARY: 1. Strips of arable land were treated with hexoestrol at 10 μg and 50 μg/kg, harrowed into the top 4 in. of soil. 2. When known amounts of hexoestrol were added to soil, about 70% was recovered by the method of extraction used. 3. Samples of treated soil were assayed biologically for oestrogenic activity at intervals after treatment; crops of grass, clover and cabbage grown on the treated soil were similarly assayed at intervals after sowing or planting. 4. The hexoestrol disappeared from the soil within a few weeks. Where the initial concentration was 10 μg/kg, no hexoestrol could be detected after 4 weeks, the lowest detectable level being 4 μg/kg. Where the initial concentration was 50 μg/kg, the concentration had fallen to about 4 μg/kg after 4 weeks and to about 2 μg/kg after 8 weeks. 5. Part of the loss is due to leaching into lower layers of the soil. 6. No oestrogenic activity could be demonstrated in grass grown on the treated plots when cut at 7, 17 or 22 weeks after sowing. 7. No oestrogenic activity could be demonstrated in cabbage grown on the treated plots when cut at 8 or 16 weeks after planting. 8. No oestrogenic activity could be demonstrated in clover grown on the treated plots when cut at 7 or 17 weeks after sowing. Clover grown on the treated plots showed a low level of oestrogenic activity when cut at 22 weeks. Clover grown on untreated soil under the same conditions showed no activity. The practical significance of these findings is discussed.

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