Effect of simulated radiation on sethoxydim performance used with and without vegetable oils.

The photodecomposition of post emergence herbicides on leaf surface can be affected via adding vegetable oils to spray tank. Nine vegetable oils were compared to assess the photodecomposition of sethoxydim on wild oat leaf surface under simulated light conditions. The experiment was conducted as completely randomized factorial design with three replications at the College of Agriculture, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran, in 2013. Each herbicidal solution (with and without vegetable oil) was exposed to simulated light at 0, 5, 10, 20, 30, 60, 120 and 240 MAS (min after spray), for 30 min. The performance of sethoxydim in the presence of turnip, olive, soybean, corn, sunflower, canola, sesame, castor and cotton seed oils, compared to non-vegetable oil solution, increased up to 4.02-, 3.44-, 3.22-, 3.08-, 2.86-, 2.09-, 1.96-, 1.77- and 1.25- fold. All vegetable oils significantly improved the resistance of sethoxydim to light treatment. The effect of vegetable oils on the resistance to photodecomposition of sethoxydim was significant different at less than 60 MAS, while no significant differences were noted among vegetable oils when light treatment occurred at 120 and 240 MAS. Data from the light treatments have confirmed that when vegetable oils were added to sethoxydim, light adverse effect was lower, which is presumably due to disturbance of the cuticule and the rapid absorption of sethoxydim by wild oat leaves. Vegetable oils fatty acids composition effect the resistance to photodecomposition of sethoxydim, as with increasing the unsaturated fatty acid values, the resistance to photodecomposition was improved.