Reduction of 2,4‐D Load in Surface Runoff Down a Grassed Waterway

The effectiveness of a grassed waterway in decreasing 2,4‐D [(2,4‐dichlorophenoxy) acetic acid] content in surface runoff was investigated. Corn (Zea maysL.) plots were treated with 2,4‐D (0.56 kg/ha) and runoff produced by applying simulated rain was directed through a 24.4‐m‐long grassed waterway. The 2,4‐D concentrations were measured under wet and dry antecedent waterway and plot conditions. Reduction in 2,4‐D load in waterways results from water loss by infiltration, sediment loss, and by attachment‐absorption on vegetative and organic matter. Of the simulated rainfall applied 1 day after application of 2,4‐D, 50% of the water ran off the plots under dry antecedent soil conditions, and 78% ran off under wet conditions. Infiltration reduced runoff flowing down the waterway an additional 25% under dry conditions and 2% under wet conditions. Suspended sediment reduction in the waterway was 98 and 94% of the total amount moving from the plot for the dry and wet waterway conditions, respectively. The total loss (on sediment and in solution) of the applied 2,4‐D from the plot in the dry and wet states was 2.5 and 10.3%, respectively. Of the 2,4‐D lost from the plots and entering the 24.4‐m waterway, approximately 30% reached the end of the waterway, regardless of antecedent soil moisture.