Physiological basis for differential sensitivity to sulfentrazone by sicklepod (Senna obtusifolia) and coffee senna (Cassia occidentalis)

Consistent with field observations, sicklepod exhibited considerable tolerance to sulfentrazone, and coffee senna showed relatively high sensitivity to this herbicide in greenhouse tests. Germination was not inhibited in either species at up to 12.9 mu M of the herbicide. However, the chlorophyll content of herbicide-treated coffee senna cotyledonary leaves was greatly reduced, and seedlings died within 10 d after treatment, while sicklepod seedlings were not visibly affected. Shoot height of coffee senna was inhibited 90% by sulfentrazone at 0.5 kg ai ha(-1), while the growth of sicklepod was not affected up to 2.0 kg ai ha(-1). Root uptake of radiolabeled sulfentrazone was 74% greater in coffee senna than sicklepod, but the amount of radioactivity recovered from the shoots of both species after 12 h was not different. Eighty-three percent of the parent compound remained in coffee senna leaf tissue after 9 h root exposure to the herbicide. In contrast, sicklepod took up relatively less sulfentrazone through the root and metabolized sulfentrazone in the foliage more rapidly than coffee senna, with 91.6% of the herbicide being metabolized during the first 9 h of exposure. These results suggest that the tolerance of sicklepod to sulfentrazone is primarily due to a relatively high rate of metabolism of the herbicide compared to coffee senna.