The degradation of methazole in soil. I. Effects of soil type, soil temperature and soil moisture content

[14C]-Labelled methazole was incubated in six soils at 25°C and with soil moisture at field capacity. Under these conditions, methazole was unstable, the concentration declined following first-order kinetics with half-life values in the soils ranging from 2.3 to 5.0 days. The main degradation product was 1-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-3-methylurea (DCPMU) which was more stable than the parent compound. After about 160 days, DCPMU accounted for 30 to 45% of the initial methazole concentration. Degradation of methazole and DCPMU was affected by soil temperature and moisture content. With methazole, half-lives in one soil at field capacity moisture content and temperatures of 25, 15 and 5°C were 3.5, 8.7 and 31.1 days respectively. The half-life at 25°C was increased to 5.0 days at 50% of field capacity and 9.6 days at 25% of field capacity. A proportion of the initial radioactivity added to the soil could not be extracted and this proportion increased with time. After 160 days this unextractable radioactivity accounted for up to 70% of the amount applied.