Persistence of sulfentrazone in soil under soybean and its carryover effect on bioindicators

To assess the persistence and dissipation kinetics of sulfentrazone in soil, terminal residues in soybean and carryover effect on bioindicator species, field experiment was carried out under Indian tropical conditions. The sulfentrazone was applied at 360, 480 and 720g a.i. ha(-1) rates as pre-emergence herbicide. Its residues in soil and in soybean at harvest were analyzed by high pressure liquid chromatography. Results showed that the sulfentrazone dissipation in soil followed first-order reaction kinetics with the half-lives of 5.5 to 14.8 days. Terminal residue in shoot and grain showed that sulfentazone at 360g ha(-1) can be safely applied for weed control in soybean since there was no phytotoxicity injury to the crop. The residue in soybean grain was within the safe limits (0.05 mu g g(-1)) as proposed by US. However, the detection of sulfentrazone residue in soil at harvest and carryover injury to bioindicator signified the risk for crops in succession. Hence the use of this herbicide in soil with low organic matter and coarse texture is questionable as it is highly mobile. Further biomagnifications of sulfentrazone residue in soil and crop produce under continuous use and interaction of climatic variables and soil properties on its persistence, sorption and leaching behavior need to be investigated.