Persistence, Distribution, and Emission of Telone C35 Injected into a Florida Sandy Soil as Affected by Moisture, Organic Matter, and Plastic Film Cover

Abstract

With the phase-out of methyl bromide scheduled for 2005, alternative fumigants are being sought. This study of Telone C35, a mixture of (Z)- and (E)-1,3-dichloropropene (1,3-D) with chloropicirin (CP), focuses on its emissions, distribution, and persistence in Florida sandy soil in microplots with different soil–water and organic matter carbon (C) content with and without two different plastic film mulches. The addition of CP did not affect the physical behavior of the isomers of 1,3-D. Slower subsurface dispersion and longer residence time of the mixed fumigant occurred at higher water content. An increase in the percent organic carbon in the soil led to a more rapid decrease for chloropicirin than for 1,3-dichloropene isomers. The use of a virtually impermeable film (VIF) for soil cover provided a more even distribution and longer persistence under all the conditions studied in comparison to polyethylene (PE) film cover or no cover. The conditions of near field capacity water content, low organic matter, and a virtually impermeable film cover yielded optimum conditions for the distribution, emission control, and persistence of Telone C35 in a Florida sandy soil.

Keywords:

• Fumigant
• Telone
• Dichloropropene
• Chloropicirin
• Plastic film
• Volatilization
• Absorption
• Distribution

Acknowledgments

Our thanks to Wayne W. Wynn, Larry Pitts, and Joan Anderson for technical assistance. This study was supported by the Florida Agricultural Experiment Station and a grant from U.S. Department of Agriculture. It has been approved for publication as Journal Series No. R-09980.