Adsorption of sugar beet herbicides to Finnish soils

Abstract Three sugar beet herbicides, ethofumesate, phenmedipham and metamitron, are currently used on conventional sugar beet cultivation, while new varieties of herbicide resistant (HR) sugar beet, tolerant of glyphosate or glufosinate-ammonium, are under field testing in Finland. Little knowledge has so far been available on the adsorption of these herbicides to Finnish soils. The adsorption of these five herbicides was studied using the batch equilibrium method in 21 soil samples collected from different depths. Soil properties like organic carbon content, texture, pH and partly the phosphorus and oxide content of the soils were tested against the adsorption coefficients of the herbicides. In general, the herbicides studied could be arranged according to their adsorption coefficients as follows: glyphosate > phenmedipham > ethofumesate ≈ glufosinate-ammonium > metamitron, metamitron meaning the highest risk of leaching. None of the measured soil parameters could alone explain the adsorption mechanism of these five herbicides. The results can be used in model assessments of risk for leaching to ground water resulting from weed control of sugar beet in Finland.