Atrazine and simazine, pesticides used to control pre- and post-emergence broadleaf weeds, can reach water bodies and become a health issue. Even though glyphosate-ready corn usage has significantly increased in the last 10 years, the use of triazines to control weeds in corn by farmers has decreased only slightly, especially in the US Midwest. We investigated atrazine and simazine transport and persistence in soils in a corn-soybean rotation system for four growing seasons. Water samples from surface runoff and subsurface drainage were collected and analyzed for these compounds by UPLC-MS-MS. Although the reported half-life of triazines in soils ranges from days to few months, atrazine and simazine were detected in the surface runoff and subsurface drainage two years after their last application; however, the concentrations were below the EPA Maximum Contaminant Levels. These results suggest that atrazine and simazine can be persistent in agricultural fields, and potentially reach surface water bodies by leaching through the soil profile and/or carry over by surface runoff long after application.

Atrazine and simazine transport and persistence in soils in corn-soybean rotations

248th National Meeting (2014)

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