Enhanced microbial degradation of deethylatrazine in atrazine-history soils
- Iowa State Univ., Ames, IA (United States)
Persistence and degradation of deethylatrazine, the primary metabolite of atrazine, was measured in soil with atrazine history (15 consecutive years of atrazine application) and no atrazine history (no atrazine application for 15 consecutive years). Uniformly ring-labeled {sup 14}C-deethylatrazine was applied to surface and subsurface soils for metabolism studies. After 60 d of incubation, mineralization of deethylatrazine to {sup 14}CO{sub 2} in the atrazine-history surface soil was twice that in the no-history surface soils (34% and 17% of the applied {sup 14}C, respectively). In surface soils, 25% of the applied {sup 14}C remained as deethylatrazine in the atrazine-history soil, compared with 35% in the no-history soil. Microbial plate counts indicated an increase in numbers of bacteria and fungi in soils incubated with deethylatrazine compared to control soils. Total microbial biomass of soils incubated with deethylatrazine, as determined by CO{sub 2} efflux using an infrared (IR) gas analyzer, showed no significant difference between atrazine-history, and no-history soil, but did show an increase above untreated control soils. Prior to treating soils with deethylatrazine, specific deethylatrazine degraders were quantified using a {sup 14}C-most-probable-number procedure. Deethylatrazine degraders were more numerous in atrazine-history surface soil compared to no-history surface soil. After incubation of soils with deethylatrazine, deethylatrazine degraders were more numerous in both history soils as compared to control soils. From these studies, it appears that deethylatrazine is degraded microbially to a greater extent in soils that have had long-term exposure to atrazine at field application rates compared to soils with no long-term exposure. Decreased persistence of this major metabolite of atrazine in atrazine-history soils is important in that there will be less available for movement in surface runoff and to groundwater.
- OSTI ID:
- 126057
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-950402-; TRN: 95:006086-0025
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 209. American Chemical Society (ACS) national meeting, Anaheim, CA (United States), 2-6 Apr 1995; Other Information: PBD: 1995; Related Information: Is Part Of 209th ACS national meeting; PB: 2088 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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