Atrazine Translocation and Metabolism in Sudangrass, Sorghum, and Corn

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Abstract
Root and shoot extracts of 3-week-old sudangrass [Sorghum sudanense (Piper) Stapf, var. Piper], grain sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench], and corn (Zea mays L.) plants degraded 2-chloro-4-(ethylamino)-6-(isopropylamino)-s-triazine (atrazine) in order: shoot > root and corn ≫ sorghum = sudangrass. In 3-week-old detopped plants, the rate of atrazine exudation was 14 times greater in sudangrass and sorghum than in corn when grown in Keith sandy loam containing 0.5 ppmw 14C-atrazine. Extraction and analysis of plant shoots revealed that 7 to 8% of the 14C was present as atrazine in sudangrass and sorghum whereas no atrazine was found in corn. In 14C tracer studies, thin-layer chromatography showed that sudangrass and sorghum metabolized atrazine by a pathway which differed from the pathway in corn. Sudangrass and sorghum metabolized atrazine primarily to 2-chloro-4-amino-6-(isopropylamino)-s-triazine and 2-chloro-4-amino-6-(ethylamino)-s-triazine which are only partially detoxified compounds. Corn metabolized atrazine to 2-hydroxy-4-(ethylamino)-6-(isopropylamino)-s-triazine (hydroxyatrazine) which is non-phytotoxic.