14This research examined the impact of field-aged phosphate and cadmium (Cd)

Phosphate and glyphosate molecules compete for sorption sites in soil. The objective of this study was to quantify the impact of Olsen P concentrations in two contrasting soils on phosphate and glyphosate sorption. Soils were a sandy clay loam soil rich in iron oxides (SCL-Fe 2 O 3) and a clay loam soil rich in calcium carbonates (CL-CaCO 3). The phosphate Freundlich sorption coefficient (K f) ranged from 3 to 68 L 1/n mg 1-1/n kg-1 in the SCL-Fe 2 O 3 and from 21 to 76 L 1/n mg 1-1/n kg-1 in the CL-CaCO 3. Glyphosate sorption coefficient (K d) ranged from 293 to 1173 L kg-1 in the SCL-Fe 2 O 3 but only 99 to 141 L kg-1 in the CL-CaCO 3. Glyphosate K d and phosphate K f values decreased significantly with increasing Olsen P concentrations in both soils. Glyphosate K d values were further significantly reduced when phosphate was added to the slurry solutions, but phosphate K f values were not impacted by the presence of glyphosate in solutions. We conclude that annual phosphate fertilizer applications leave phosphate concentrations in Prairie soils to the extent that soils have a lesser capacity to retain glyphosate and phosphate that are subsequently applied, but glyphosate residues will not influence phosphate sorption.

Groundwater samples were collected from piezometers and water table wells in both dryland and irrigated agricultural regions of Alberta, Canada, to examine the occurrence of pesticide mixtures. Fourteen current‐use pesticides and two historical compounds were detected over a 3‐yr sampling period. Pesticide mixtures were detected in ∼3% of the groundwater samples, and the frequency of detection increased from spring (1.5%) to summer (3.8%) and fall (4.8%). Pesticide mixtures always consisted of at least one of two auxin herbicides: 2,4‐dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4‐D) or 2‐methyl‐4‐chlorophenoxyacetic acid (MCPA). 19% of all samples contained a single pesticide, with auxin herbicides 2,4‐D (7.3%), MCPA (4.4%), and clopyralid (3.9%) being most prevalent. We detected 2,4‐D predominantly in the fall (72% of 2,4‐D detections) and less in spring and summer (28%). We detected MCPA mostly in summer (85% of MCPA detections) and less in spring and fall (15%). Clopyralid was more evenly detected across spring (30%), summer (25%), and fall (45%). Since the auxin herbicides above are typically applied in summer, results suggest that each herbicide may have different mobility and persistence characteristics in prairie soils. Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality have been set for a range of individual pesticides, but not for pesticide mixtures. If Canada is to establish such guidelines, this study demonstrates that auxin herbicides should be prioritized. In addition, only 7 of the 16 compounds detected in this study have established maximum acceptable concentrations (MACs), excluding clopyralid, which was detected in all three sampling years. Core Ideas Sixteen pesticides were detected in groundwater, most frequently auxin herbicides. Detection of pesticide mixtures increased from spring (1.5%) to fall (4.8%). Samples with pesticide mixtures always contained at least one auxin herbicide. In establishing water quality guidelines for mixtures, Canada must prioritize auxins.

Phosphate fertilizers and herbicides such as glyphosate and MCPA are commonly applied to agricultural land, and antibiotics such as tetracycline have been detected in soils following the application of livestock manures and biosolids to agricultural land. Utilizing a range of batch equilibrium experiments, this research examined the competitive sorption interactions of these chemicals in soil. Soil samples (0-15 cm) collected from long-term experimental plots contained Olsen P concentrations in the typical (13 to 20 mg kg) and elevated (81 to 99 mg kg) range of build-up phosphate in agricultural soils. The elevated Olsen P concentrations in field soils significantly reduced glyphosate sorption up to 50%, but had no significant impact on MCPA and tetracycline sorption. Fresh phosphate additions in the laboratory, introduced to soil prior to, or at the same time with the other chemical applications, had a greater impact on reducing glyphosate sorption (up to 45%) than on reducing tetracycline (up to 13%) and MCPA (up to 8%) sorption. The impact of fresh phosphate additions on the desorption of these three chemicals was also statistically significant, but numerically very small namely < 1% for glyphosate and tetracycline and 3% for MCPA. The presence of MCPA significantly reduced sorption and increased desorption of glyphosate, but only when MCPA was present at concentrations much greater than environmentally relevant and there was no phosphate added to the MCPA solution. Tetracycline addition had no significant effect on glyphosate sorption and desorption in soil. For the four chemicals studied, we conclude that when mixtures of phosphate, herbicides and antibiotics are present in soil, the greatest influence of their competitive interactions is phosphate decreasing glyphosate sorption and the presence of phosphate in solution lessens the potential impact of MCPA on glyphosate sorption. The presence of chemical mixtures in soil solution has an overall greater impact on the sorption than desorption of individual organic chemicals in soil.

Wetlands in the Prairie Pothole Region of North America are integrated with farmland and contain mixtures of herbicide contaminants. Passive nonfacilitated diffusion is how most herbicides can move across plant membranes, making this perhaps an important process by which herbicide contaminants are absorbed by wetland vegetation. Prairie wetlands are dominated by native cattail (Typha latifolia) and hybrid cattail (Typha x glauca). The objective of this batch equilibrium study was to compare glyphosate absorption by the shoots and rhizomes of native versus hybrid cattails. Although it has been previously reported for some pesticides that passive diffusion is greater for rhizome than shoot components, this is the first study to demonstrate that the absorption capacity of rhizomes is species dependent, with the glyphosate absorption being significantly greater for rhizomes than shoots in case of native cattails, but with no significant differences in glyphosate absorption between rhizomes and shoots in case of hybrid cattails. Most importantly, glyphosate absorption by native rhizomes far exceeded that of the absorption occurring for hybrid rhizomes, native shoots and hybrid shoots. Glyphosate has long been used to manage invasive hybrid cattails in wetlands in North America, but hybrid cattail expansions continue to occur. Since our results showed limited glyphosate absorption by hybrid shoots and rhizomes, this lack of sorption may partially explain the poorer ability of glyphosate to control hybrid cattails in wetlands.