Effect of Soil Condition on Pesticide Behavior in Crop Field.

The persistence of pesticides in soil is a summation of all the reactions, movements, and degradations affecting these chemicals. Marked differences in persistence are the rule. For example, organophosphate insecticides may last only a few days in soil; the most widely used herbicide, 2,4-D, persists in soil for only two to four weeks; chlorinated hydrocarbons may persist from three to fifteen years or longer. The persistence time of hundreds of other pesticides, are between the extremes cited. The majority of pesticides degrade rapidly enough to prevent buildup in soil. Those that do not do so have potential for environmental damage. In the article authors have studied and discussed the pesticide persistence being directly affected by physical characteristics of soil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]