HPLC methods for detection of uniconazole-P in soils and plant tissues

High-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) methods have been developed for the detection of uniconazole-P [(E)-1-(4-chlorophenyl)-4,4,-dimethyl-2-(1,2,4-triazol-1-yl)-1-penten-3-ol; XE-1019; the active ingredient in Prunit and Sumagic] in soil and plant tissue samples. Methanolic extracts of soil and plant samples were dried to the aqueous phase, the pH adjusted to 11, and partitioned against methylene chloride. The methylene chloride phases were washed with pH 11 water and then passed through C-18 solid phase extraction (SPE) columns. The soil extracts were then dried and the residues taken up in 1 ml acetonitrile of which 20 μl were injected directly onto a C-18 reverse phase analytical column for HPLC analysis. Plant tissue extracts were purified by partitioning and passing through a sequence of Florisil/C-18/Florisil SPE columns before HPLC analysis. Recovery of uniconazole-P was ∼70% from soils and ∼40% from plant tissues. Quantitative detection of 10 parts per billion (ppb) uniconazole-P in plant tissues and soil samples was feasible following these procedures. The soil cleanup procedures were also used to detect uniconazole-P in leachates collected from container-grown plants.