During 1990, injury to tomatoes grown on the narrow land between the Albufera Lake (Spain) and the Mediterranean Sea was attributed to use of irrigation water coming from adjacent rice fields containing bensulfuron and quinclorac. A tomato root bioassay was developed to detect the herbicides in 10 ml of water. The assay was more sensitive to bensulfuron (0.5 ng ml−1) than quinclorac (100 ng ml−1). Only 30 ml of the affected water are necessary to conduct the test. Albufera water, sampled at three sites during 1991 and one during 1992 in the irrigation network canals caused different tomato main root length responses.
Disappearence of pesticides from field soils results from interactions between various processes such as chemical decomposition, microbiological degradation, volatilization, runoff, leaching, photodecomposition and uptake by plants *Present address: I.V.I.A. Generalitat Valenciana,
Summary:
Soil samples taken in summer 1989 and winter 1990 at different depths from three citrus orchards of the Valencia region (Spain) with a long history of residual herbicide treatments were analysed with bioassays and chromatographic procedures. The herbicides involved were atrazine, bromacil, diuron, simazine, terbuthylazine, terbumetone, terbutryn and trifluralin. Water samples from wells in the orchards were also analysed. The concentrations of the herbicides were very low, often below the limit of determination, and were always highest in the upper layers of soil. After a very unusual period of heavy rain, small quantities of some chemicals were found in the well water. The conclusion was that in these orchards the herbicides applied at currently used rates are unlikely to accumulate in any layers of the soil.
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