CONTRIBUTION OF AERIAL CONTAMINATION TO ACCUMULATION OF DIELDRIN BY MATURE CORN PLANTS

Greenhouse and field experiments were conducted in which corn was grown on Muskingum silt loam containing added amounts of dieldrin. The plants grown in the greenhouse were protected from aerial contamination, whereas no attempt was made to control this in the field. The corn was harvested at maturity, and the dieldrin contents of the leaves, stalks, kernels, and cobs were determined. Only slight differences were found between the two experiments in the dieldrin contents of the stalks, kernels, and cobs. The leaves of the field-grown plants contained much higher concentrations than those grown in the greenhouse. The leaf-tostalk ratio of dieldrin concentrations in the field-grown plants was 50 times higher than that found in the protected plants. This large difference is attributed to aerial contamination of the foliage. © 1969, American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.