Efficacy of EPTC (S-ethyl dipropylcarbamothioate), butylate [S-ethyl bis(2-methylpropyl)carbamothioate], vernolate (S-propyl dipropylcarbamothioate), and cycloate (S-ethyl cyclohexylethylcarbamothioate) applied with dichlormid (N,N-diallyl-2,2-dichloroacetamide), and the former three herbicides applied with dichlormid and dietholate (O,O-diethyl-O-phenol phosphorothioate) for wild proso millet (Panicum miliaceum L. ssp. ruderale (Kitagawa) Tzevelev. # PANMI) control in corn (Zea mays L.) was evaluated in fields previously treated with EPTC + dichlormid or EPTC + dichlormid + dietholate. Cycloate + dichlormid usually controlled millet regardless of prior herbicide use. But EPTC + dichlormid was less effective than on soils not previously treated with the herbicides, suggesting enhanced soil biodegradation. The use of EPTC + dichlormid with row cultivation or applications of selected herbicides improved millet control. Following prior use of EPTC + dichlormid, wild proso millet control was improved by the addition of dietholate to EPTC + dichlormid and vernolate + dichlormid but not butylate + dichlormid. In dissipation studies using soils previously treated with EPTC + dichlormid, the relative order of herbicide persistence was EPTC + dichlormid < vernolate + dichlormid < butylate + dichlormid < EPTC + dichlormid + dietholate < vernolate + dichlormid + dietholate = butylate + dichlormid + dietholate < cycloate + dichlormid. When EPTC + dichlormid + dietholate was applied to soils previously treated with that mixture, wild proso millet control was again reduced. Dissipation studies confirmed that dietholate slowed biodegradation of EPTC in soils previously treated with EPTC + dichlormid but not with EPTC + dichlormid + dietholate.

The effects of herbicide concentration, soil water content, and temperature on the fate and degradation of the monosodium salt of methylarsonic acid (MSMA) were evaluated in four soils. Available arsenicals were extracted, purified, and separated using reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Residual MSMA was determined with a graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrophotometer at 193.7 nm. Initial loss of MSMA was rapid, and degradation followed first-order kinetics. The rate of change of the rate constant was temperature dependent only at soil water contents less than field capacity. MSMA dissipation was significantly faster in finer textured soils with continuous flooding and under controlled laboratory conditions (<180 days) than under field (ca. 350 days) conditions. Also, in finer textured soils, degradation of MSMA resulted in significant increases in arsenate and cacodylic acid (dimethyl arsinic acid) over native levels under flooded conditions. However, MSMA treatments contributed only a small fraction to total soil arsenic which dissipated to original concentrations by 120 days. The results indicate that under present recommended use patterns it is highly unlikely that MSMA will accumulate in the environment or carry over from one growing season to the next.

Imazaquin {2-[4,5-dihydro-4-methyl-4-(1-methylethyl)-5-oxo-1H-imidazol-2-yl]-3-quinolinecarboxylic acid} sorption and mobility were studied in five Alabama soils ranging from sandy loam to clay. Techniques included thinlayer soil chromatography, batch equilibrium, and soil solution recovery. Imazaquin was mobile in all soils with Rf values of 0.8 to 0.9. Sorption based on batch equilibrium was minimal with Kd values ranging from 0.001 to 0.21. The soil solution recovery technique was used to evaluate imazaquin sorption in each soil as influenced by imazaquin concentration, wetting and drying, and pH. As herbicide concentration added to the soils was increased from 0.1 to 10 mg/kg, the amount of 14C-imazaquin in soil solution increased. Temporarily drying each soil to 25 or 50% of field capacity resulted in maximum sorption of imazaquin. Lowering the pH enhanced sorption in all soils such that the amount of imazaquin in solution ranged from 38 (low pH) to 100% (high pH). Soil sorption appeared to be governed by the pH-dependent charge surfaces from aluminum and iron oxyhydroxides (specifically hematite and gibbsite) and kaolinite.

A root washer was constructed which rapidly separated Canada thistle [Cirsium arvense (L.) Scop. # CIRAR] roots larger than 1.3-mm diam with 96% or greater efficiency from cohesive clay soil. The washer removed 93 ± 15% of 43 200 cm clay soil from Canada thistle roots in 2 h. Small residual soil clods and organic debris were removed by hand after washing. The washing action did not damage the root system. From 4 to 6 h were required to wash the large Canada thistle roots from an equivalent volume of clay soil by hand, without using the washer. Rhizomes, seeds, and tubers also may be separated from soil with the washer. The tank and frame of this washer are durable, and moving parts such as bearings can be replaced easily.

Field experiments determined the potential interaction of insecticides and propanil [N-(3,4-dichlorophenyl) propanamide] in drill-seeded rice (Oryza sativa L. ‘Bond’). The carbamate insecticides carbaryl (1-naphthylmethylcarbamate) and methomyl {S-methyl N-[(methylcarbamoyl) oxy] thioacetimidate} interacted more severely with propanil than the organophosphate methyl parathion [O,O-dimethyl O-(p-nitrophenyl) phosphorothioate] in emulsifiable or encapsulated formulations. Carbaryl and methomyl injured rice vegetatively when applied from 7 days before to 4 days after propanil. Carbaryl was the only insecticide that interacted with propanil to reduce rice grain yield. Insecticides interacted adversely with propanil on rice grain yield when they were applied 2 days before propanil treatment. Insecticide interactions with propanil from most to least phytotoxic to rice plants for all times of application were: carbaryl > methomyl > emulsifiable methyl parathion > encapsulated methyl parathion.