Adsorption and Desorption of Methiopyrsulfuron in Soils

Methiopyrsulfuron is a new low-rate sulfonylurea herbicide for weed control in wheat; however, there is a lack of published information on its behavior in soils. In this study, methiopyrsulfuron adsorption and desorption were measured in seven soils sampled from Heilongjiang, Shandong, Jiangxi, Sichuan, Anhui, and Chongqing provinces of China using a batch equilibrium method. The Freundlich equation was used to described its adsorption and desorption. Adsorption isotherms were nonlinear with the values of K(f-ads), the Freundlich empirical constant indicative of the adsorption capacity, ranging from 0.75 to 2.46, suggesting that little of this herbicide was adsorbed by any of the seven soils. Soil pH and organic matter content (OM) were the main factors influencing adsorption; adsorption was negatively correlated with pH and positively correlated with OM. Methiopyrsulfuron desorption was hysteretic on the soils with high OM content and low pH.