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Effectiveness of Switchgrass Filter Strips in Removing Dissolved Atrazine and Metolachlor from Runoff

Agric. Res. Stn., P.O. Box 9061, Virginia State Univ., Petersburg, VA 23806;
USDA-NRCS, Oregon State Univ., ALS Bldg., Rm. 3017, Corvallis, OR 97331.

^* Corresponding author (wmersie{at}vsu.edu).

ABSTRACT

The effectiveness of switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) filter strips in removing dissolved atrazine (2-chloro-4-ethylamino-6-isopropylamino-1,3,5-triazine) and metolachlor (2-chloro-N-2-ethyl-6-methylphenyl-N-2-methoxy-1-methylethyl acetamide) in runoff was investigated using aluminum-tilted beds set at 1% slope, filled with Emporia sandy loam soil (fine-loamy, siliceous, thermic Typic Hapludults) and planted to switchgrass. Solution containing herbicides, followed by water alone after 2 and 4 wk were applied on the up slope of beds with and without switchgrass. Water samples from surface flow, lateral, and vertical leachates as well as soil samples were analyzed for the two herbicides using a gas chromatograph. Switchgrass filter strips reduced the mass of dissolved atrazine and metolachlor by 52 and 59% from the applied runon, respectively. The bare soil strips removed 41% of atrazine and 44% of metolachlor. Less than 0.5% of the applied herbicide was released by the two water runons 2 and 4 wk after herbicide-solution application. The average concentrations of both herbicides in surface runoff were greater than in leachate samples. Herbicides were removed by the soil as runon moved through the soil profile. The concentration of either herbicide on the top surface (0–2.5 cm) was greater than in the soil immediately below (2.5–5 cm). Degradation of both herbicides was faster in beds with switchgrass than without. Greater amounts of both herbicides were retained in the first 67-cm section of beds with the grass than without. Switchgrass helped to remove the herbicides by slowing runoff velocity and increasing their retention by soil.

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