Enhanced atrazine degradation is widespread across the United States

Thomas C Mueller; Ethan T Parker; Larry Steckel; Sharon A Clay; Micheal Dk Owen; William S Curran; Randall Currie; Robert Scott; Christy Sprague; Daniel O Stephenson; Donnie K Miller; Eric P Prostko; W James Grichar; James Martin; L Jason Kruz; Kevin Bradley; Mark L Bernards; Peter Dotray; Stevan Knezevic; Vince Davis; Robert Klein

doi:10.1002/ps.4566

Enhanced atrazine degradation is widespread across the United States

Pest Manag Sci. 2017 Sep;73(9):1953-1961. doi: 10.1002/ps.4566. Epub 2017 Apr 19.

Authors

Thomas C Mueller¹, Ethan T Parker¹, Larry Steckel², Sharon A Clay³, Micheal Dk Owen⁴, William S Curran⁵, Randall Currie⁶, Robert Scott⁷, Christy Sprague⁸, Daniel O Stephenson⁹, Donnie K Miller¹⁰, Eric P Prostko¹¹, W James Grichar¹², James Martin¹³, L Jason Kruz¹⁴, Kevin Bradley¹⁵, Mark L Bernards¹⁶, Peter Dotray¹⁷, Stevan Knezevic¹⁸, Vince Davis¹⁹, Robert Klein²⁰

Affiliations

¹ University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA.
² University of Tennessee West TN Research and Education Center, Jackson, TN, USA.
³ South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD, USA.
⁴ Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA.
⁵ Penn State University, University Park, PA, USA.
⁶ Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, USA.
⁷ University of Arkansas, Lonoke, AR, USA.
⁸ Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA.
⁹ LSU AgCenter, Alexandria, LA, USA.
¹⁰ LSU AgCenter, St Joseph, LA, USA.
¹¹ University of Georgia, Tifton, GA, USA.
¹² Texas A&M AgriLife Research, Beeville, TX, USA.
¹³ University of Kentucky, Princeton, KY, USA.
¹⁴ Mississippi State University, Stoneville, MS, USA.
¹⁵ University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA.
¹⁶ Western Illinois University, Macomb, IL, USA.
¹⁷ Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, USA.
¹⁸ University of Nebraska, Concord, NE, USA.
¹⁹ University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA.
²⁰ University of Nebraska, North Platte, NE, USA.

PMID: 28266154
DOI: 10.1002/ps.4566

Abstract

Background: Atrazine (ATZ) has been a key herbicide for annual weed control in corn, with both a soil and post-emergence vegetation application period. Although enhanced ATZ degradation in soil with a history of ATZ use has been reported, the extent and rate of degradation in the US Corn Belt is uncertain. We show that enhanced ATZ degradation exists across much of the country.

Results: Soils from 15 of 16 surveyed states had enhanced ATZ degradation. The average ATZ half-life was only 2.3 days in ATZ history soils, compared with an average 14.5 days in soils with no previous ATZ use, meaning that ATZ degrades an average 6 times faster in soils with previous ATZ use.

Conclusion: When ATZ is used for several years, enhanced degradation will undoubtedly change the way ATZ is used in agronomic crops and also its ultimate environmental fate. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

Keywords: atrazine; enhanced degradation; environmental fate.

MeSH terms

Atrazine / chemistry
Atrazine / metabolism*
Soil / chemistry
Soil Microbiology
United States

Substances

Soil
Atrazine