PENETRATION OF AND PERSISTENCE IN SOIL OF THE HERBICIDE ATRAZINE

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Abstract
A study was made of the soil penetration and persistence of atrazine applied to a loam soil in June, 1960, and again to a second series of plots in June, 1961, at rates ranging from 2 to 20 lb/ac (active). A few of the plots were planted to corn; the rest left fallow. Residual concentrations at 0–1 in., 1–2, 2–4, 4–6, and 6–8 in. were determined by chemical analysis.In both experiments, at the end of the first sampling season, approximately 90% of the residual atrazine was present in the 0–2 in. depth, most still being concentrated in the 0–1 in. layer. One year after treatment, the above was still true except for those plots which had grown corn. When the above results were compared with those of a similar study with simazine, the rate and extent of soil penetration was found to be quite similar.At the end of the first sampling season there was an appreciably greater residue remaining in the corn plots than in the similarly treated fallow plots, an average for both experiments of 43.8% of applied atrazine vs. 18.3%. The difference was very probably due to the much drier soil which was characteristic of the corn plots during the season. By the end of the first year this difference was much less, 8.1% vs. 6.0%. When the persistence results were compared with those of similarly treated plots in the simazine study it was found that the atrazine disappeared from the soil considerably more rapidly.

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