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Persistence and Fate of 2,4-D Butoxyethanol Ester in Artificial Ponds¹

ABSTRACT

A granular formulation of the butoxyethanol ester of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) was applied at a rate of 23 kg a.i. ha^–1 to outdoor, artificial, polythene-lined ponds infested with Eurasian watermilfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum L.). Water temperature dropped from 25°C at time of treatment to 0°C after 56 d and the ponds were frozen over for the rest of the study. Samples of plant material, pond water, and sediment were taken over a 180-d period, extracted, and analyzed by gas chromatography to determine residue concentrations of ester and 2,4-D. Ester levels in water were low and dropped to < 1.0 µg L^–1 within 15 d. Ester concentration in sediment 7 d post application was 1.7 µg g dry wt^–1, but dropped to 0.1 µg g dry wt^–1 after 42 d. 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid residues in water declined to 1.0 mg L^–1 after 85 d and to 0.2 mg L^–1 after 178 d. Residues in plant material dropped to 10 µg g dry wt^–1 after 70 d; sediment residues were negligible after 50 d. Residues of 2,4-dichlorophenol or 2,4-dichloroanisole were not detected in any samples. Despite the low temperature prevailing in the latter half of the study, a relatively rapid rate of 2,4-D breakdown was maintained both in pond water and sediment.

Key Words: Aquakleen® • herbicide • Myriophyllum • sediment

¹ This work was supported by grants from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and the Ontario Ministry of the Environment.

² Research associate and professor, respectively, Dep. of Biology, York Univ., Downsview (Toronto), Ontario, Canada M3J 1P3. Present address of senior author is Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Toronto, Ontario M4V 1P5.

Received for publication November 29, 1983.