Postemergence activity of sulfentrazone: Effects of surfactants and leaf surfaces

Sulfentrazone was foliar applied at 34 and 56 g ai ha(-1) alone or in combination with surfactants to soybean cultivars Hutcheson and Centennial and to sicklepod, coffee senna, smallflower morningglory, velvetleaf, and yellow nutsedge. The most sensitive weeds, including coffee senna, smallflower morningglory, and velvetleaf, were severely injured by the lowest rate when sulfentrazone was applied with surfactants. Sulfentrazone provided the highest control of yellow nutsedge with X-77, Soybeans were not severely injured by sulfentrazone applied alone, but 55% foliar injury occurred when the herbicide was applied with X-77. However, the seedlings were not killed, Sicklepod was the most tolerant of the weeds tested, In the absence of surfactants, the order of radiolabeled sulfentrazone absorption by the foliage was Centennial (5.8%) = Hutcheson (8.5%) = coffee senna (10.4%) < yellow nutsedge (17.0%) < velvetleaf (22.3%) = smallflower morningglory (24%), Sicklepod leaves did not retain droplets containing sulfentrazone when no surfactant was used. Species with the highest foliar absorption also showed the greatest phytotoxic response to the herbicide. Addition of surfactants to the spray mixture enhanced the foliar absorption and overall phytotoxicity of sulfentrazone in the weeds. An inverse relationship was detected between the foliar absorption of sulfentrazone without surfactants and the amount of cuticular wax present on the leaves. No such correlation was observed when surfactants were used. Thus, surfactants overcame the barrier to absorption imposed by the cuticular wax and, under these conditions, selectivity apparently became dependent upon species-specific cellular tolerance to sulfentrazone.