231Sorção e dessorção do diuron em quatro latossolos brasileiros 1 Recebido para publicação em 2.5.2012 e aprovado em 25.10.2012. Palavras-chave: herbicidas não iônicos, isotermas de Freundlich, pH do solo.ABSTRACT -The knowledge of herbicide sorption in soils is one of the conditions needed to make reliable recommendations of these compounds, based on their technical and environmental aspects. Thus, the aim of this work was to evaluate sorption and desorption of diuron in Red-Yellow Latosol (RYL), Humic Red-Yellow Latosol (HRYL), Red Latosol (RL), and Yellow Latosol (YL), with different pH values. The Batch Equilibrium method was used to evaluate sorption and desorption. It consisted of the use of 10.0 mL of solution at concentrations of 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 8, and 15 mg L -1 of diuron, prepared in CaCl 2 0.01 mol L -1 . These solutions were added in 2.00 g of soil sample, remaining under agitation for 12 h. After centrifugation and filtration, the diuron concentration in the supernatant was determined by high performance liquid chromatography. Desorption was evaluated using samples kept in tubes after the sorption tests, at an initial concentration of 8 mg L -1 of the herbicide. The Freundlich isotherm was adjusted appropriately to describe the sorption of diuron for all soils. The sorption of diuron was directly related to organic matter content, whereas soils with higher organic matter content, RYL and HRYL showed higher sorption coefficients. The pH increase in soil increases diuron sorption. This was more evident in RL, which has the lowest organic matter content. The desorption process was the inverse of the diuron sorption process, since soils with lower sorption had the highest percentages of desorption.