title: Effect of controlled release formulations of diuron and alachlor herbicides on the biochemical activity of agricultural soils.
abstract: The use of pesticides in agriculture is essential because it reduces the economic losses caused by pests, improving crop yields. In spite of the growing number of studies concerning the development and application of controlled release formulations (CRFs) of pesticides in agricultural soils, there are no studies about the effects of such formulations on the biochemical properties. In this paper the dissipation of diuron and alachlor in three agricultural soils for 127days, applied either as commercial or CRFs, was determined as well as their concomitant effects on soil biochemical properties. Dehydrogenase, urease, β-glucosidase and phosphatase activities were measured thought the experimental period. The application of alachlor as CRF increases its half-life time in soils, whereas no differences were noticed between diuron formulations due to its slower degradation, which takes longer than its release from the CRF. At the end of the incubation period, the enzymatic activities were the same after the use of diuron either as commercial or CRF, recovering the soil previous status. For alachlor formulations, no differences in enzymatic activities were again observed between both formulations, but their levels in soils were enhanced. Therefore, the use of these CRFs does not adversely affect the soil biochemical properties.
authors: Grupo de investigación "Edafología Ambiental", Departamento de Cristalografía, Mineralogía y Química Agrícola, E.T.S.I.A. Universidad de Sevilla, Crta de Utrera km. 1, 41013 Seville, Spain. Electronic address: mtmoral@us.es.
authors: Manuel
authors: M
authors: Tejada
authors: Instituto de Recursos Naturales y Agrobiología de Sevilla (IRNAS-CSIC), Apdo. 6 1052, 41080, Seville, Spain.
authors: Esmeralda
authors: E
authors: Morillo
authors: Grupo de investigación "Edafología Ambiental", Departamento de Cristalografía, Mineralogía y Química Agrícola, E.T.S.I.A. Universidad de Sevilla, Crta de Utrera km. 1, 41013 Seville, Spain.
authors: Isidoro
authors: I
authors: Gómez
authors: Instituto de Recursos Naturales y Agrobiología de Sevilla (IRNAS-CSIC), Apdo. 6 1052, 41080, Seville, Spain.
authors: Fernando
authors: F
authors: Madrid
authors: Instituto de Recursos Naturales y Agrobiología de Sevilla (IRNAS-CSIC), Apdo. 6 1052, 41080, Seville, Spain.
authors: Tomás
authors: T
authors: Undabeytia
mesh_terms: D000081:Acetamides / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000032:analysis*; D000383:Agriculture; D000538:Aluminum Silicates; D000077215:Clay; D004237:Diuron / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000032:analysis*; D004798:Enzymes / Q000032:analysis; D006540:Herbicides / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000032:analysis*; D010573:Pesticide Residues / Q000032:analysis*; D010713:Phosphatidylcholines; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D000081:Acetamides; D000538:Aluminum Silicates; D004798:Enzymes; D006540:Herbicides; D010573:Pesticide Residues; D010713:Phosphatidylcholines; D012987:Soil; C000188:alachlor; D004237:Diuron; D000077215:Clay
keywords: Controlled release formulations; Dissipation; Herbicides; Soil enzymatic activities