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RESEARCH ARTICLE

The sorption and degradation of the rice pesticides fipronil and thiobencarb on two Australian rice soils

Gregory Doran A C D , Philip Eberbach A C and Stuart Helliwell A B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A CRC for Sustainable Rice Production and EH Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation.

B School of Science and Technology, Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, NSW 2678, Australia.

C School of Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences, Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, NSW 2678, Australia.

D Corresponding author. Email: gdoran@csu.edu.au

Australian Journal of Soil Research 44(6) 599-610 https://doi.org/10.1071/SR05173
Submitted: 28 October 2005  Accepted: 31 May 2006   Published: 15 September 2006

Abstract

The sorption and degradation of the rice pesticides fipronil and thiobencarb on 2 Australian rice-growing soils were investigated. Greater sorption of both pesticides occurred on the soil containing less organic carbon, possibly as a result of the type of organic carbon present, rather than the absolute amount. While sorption tended to appear greater in the 0–10 mm layer than the 10–20 mm layer, analysis showed the difference was not significant (P > 0.05). Under aerobic conditions, a lag period of 20 days in the degradation of thiobencarb occurred on the Yanco soil, but rapid degradation occurred on the Coleambally soil, and, while unlikely, may have been a consequence of preconditioning of the Coleambally soil microbial population. Degradation of thiobencarb under both non-flooded anaerobic and flooded anaerobic conditions differed significantly (P < 0.05) compared to aerobic conditions. Conversely, fipronil degraded rapidly over the first few days and then slowed, and was attributed to the co-metabolism of fipronil by soil microbes. While fipronil sulfide was produced under all oxic/anoxic conditions, its concentration was greatest under flooded anaerobic conditions, possibly as a result of greater exclusion of oxygen from the soil by the floodwater.


Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the CRC for Sustainable Rice Production for providing the funding to undertake the work reported, and the EH Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation for financially supporting the senior author during the writing up of this work.


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