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TECHNICAL REPORTS

Organic Compounds in the Environment

Influence of Different Organic Amendments on the Degradation, Metabolism, and Adsorption of Terbuthylazine

^a Dep. of Environmental Engineering, Democritus Univ. of Thrace, Lab. of Solid and Hazardous Waste Management, Xanthi 67100, Greece
^b Dep. of Biochemistry-Biotechnology, Univ. of Thessaly, Ploutonos 26 & Aiolou Str., Larisa 41221, Greece
^c Aristotle Univ. of Thessaloniki, School of Agriculture, Lab. of Pesticide Science, Thessaloniki 54124, Greece
^d Aristotle Univ. of Thessaloniki, School of Agriculture, Lab. of Agronomy, Thessaloniki 54124, Greece

^* Corresponding author (voudrias{at}env.duth.gr).

Received for publication September 22, 2006. The behavior of the herbicide terbuthylazine (TA) was studied in a clay loam soil after the addition of different organic amendments (OAs). Addition of poultry compost (PC) and urban sewage sludge (USS) retarded degradation of TA with half-life values of 60.3 and 73.7 d, respectively. In contrast, addition of corn straw (CS) did not significantly alter the degradation of TA (half-life 55.5 d) compared with its degradation in nonamended soils (half-life 57.3 d). Sterilization of amended and nonamended soils resulted in a partial inhibition of TA degradation, indicating that biotic and abiotic processes are involved in TA degradation in soil. Degradation of TA led to the formation of desethyl-terbuthylazine, which was detected in low amounts (<8% of the initially applied TA) in all soils. Adsorption of TA was relatively low, with K_d values ranging from 2.31 L kg^-1 in the nonamended soil to 3.93 L kg^-1 in the soil amended with USS. In general, K_d values increased with increasing soil organic carbon content. The dissolved organic matter extracted from the OAs did not appear to interact with the pesticide or the soil surfaces, suggesting that it would not probably facilitate herbicide transport. Desorption studies indicated a slight hysteresis of TA desorption in the amended soils compared with TA desorption in the nonamended soil, which was entirely reversible. These findings might have practical implications for the environmental fate of TA in agricultural soils, where the studied OAs are commonly used.

Abbreviations: HPLC, high-performance liquid chromatography • TA, terbuthylazine • DETA, dethyl-terbuthylazine • OHTA, hydroxy-terbuthylazine • OAs, organic amendments • DOM, dissolved organic matter • CS, corn straw • PC, poultry compost • USS, urban sewage sludge