Water pressure head and temperature impact on isoxaflutole degradation in crop residues and loamy surface soil under conventional and conservation tillage management

Laboratory incubations were performed in order to evaluate the dissipation of the proherbicide isoxaflutole in seedbed layer soil samples from conventional and conservation tillage systems and in maize and oat residues left at the soil surface under conservation tillage. The effects of temperature and water pressure head on radiolabelled isoxaflutole degradation were studied for each sample for 21 d. Mineralisation of isoxaflutole was low for all samples and ranged from 0.0% to 0.9% of applied 14C in soil samples and from 0.0% to 2.4% of applied 14C in residue samples. In soil samples, degradation half-life of isoxaflutole ranged from 9 to 26 h, with significantly higher values under conservation tillage. In residue samples, degradation half-life ranged from 3 to 31 h, with significantly higher values in maize residues, despite a higher mineralisation and bound residue formation than in oat residues. Whatever the sample, most of the applied 14C remained extractable during the experiment and, after 21 d, less than 15% of applied 14C were unextractable. This extractable fraction was composed of diketonitrile, benzoic acid derivative and several unidentified metabolites, with one of them accounting for more than 17% of applied 14C. This study showed that tillage system design, including crop residues management, could help reducing the environmental impacts of isoxaflutole.

► Isoxaflutole degradation was rapid both in soil and plant residues samples.
► Isoxaflutole or its metabolites remained extractable with water during experiments.
► The nature of crop residues modified isoxaflutole behaviour.