0000000000114653
AUTHOR
Pirkko Laitinen
Microbial toxicity and impacts on soil enzyme activities of pesticides used in potato cultivation
In the conventional cultivation of potatoes, weed control and the control of potato late blight caused by Phytophthora infestans are carried out by the application of herbicides and fungicides. We investigated the impacts of the herbicides metribuzin and linuron and the fungicide fluazinam on soil microbiota in microcosms, in mesocosms and in the field. The toxicity of each pesticide in solution was assessed using the luminescent bacteria test and in soil by a solid phase modification. In microcosm tests, the microbial activity and biomass were estimated by measuring several soil enzyme activities together with soil ATP content. In the mesocosm tests, the separate addition of each pesticide…
Comparison of the behaviour of three herbicides in a field experiment under bare soil conditions
Abstract A case-study was design in order to rank three alternative herbicides according to their exposure to surface waters. Herbicide persistence and losses to surface waters were studied in an uncultivated Finnish field (ca. 3500 m2, slope
Fate of the herbicides glyphosate, glufosinate-ammonium, phenmedipham, ethofumesate and metamitron in two Finnish arable soils.
The fate of five herbicides (glyphosate, glufosinate-ammonium, phenmedipham, ethofumesate and metamitron) was studied in two Finnish sugar beet fields for 26 months. Soil types were sandy loam and clay. Two different herbicide-tolerant sugar beet cultivars and three different herbicide application schedules were used. Meteorological data were collected throughout the study and soil properties were thoroughly analysed. An extensive data set of herbicide residue concentrations in soil was collected. Five different soil depths were sampled. The study was carried out using common Finnish agricultural practices and represents typical sugar beet cultivation conditions in Finland. The overall obse…