Abstract
The fate of the fungicide carbendazim (applied in the formulation Derosal) in soil was determined in Terrestrial Model Ecosystem (TME) tests and corresponding field-validation studies, which were performed in four different countries (United Kingdom, Germany, Portugal, and The Netherlands). The tests used different soil types, and lasted for 16 weeks. On three of the four sites, grassland soils were used while the fourth site had an arable soil. TMEs consisted of intact soil columns (diameter 17.5 cm; length 40 cm) and were taken from the site where the field study was performed. In the first series of TME tests, carbendazim was applied at four dosages ranging between 0.36 and 77.8 kg a.i./ha, while in the second series of TME tests and the field-validation studies six dosages between 0.36 and 87.5 kg a.i./ha were applied. DT50 values for the dissipation of carbendazim in the TME and field tests were in most cases not significantly affected by the dosage used and ranged between 3.1 and 13.9 weeks in the top 15 cm soil layers. Corresponding DT90 values ranged between 10.1 and 46.1 weeks. DT50 and DT90 values tended to be higher in the more acidic soils of Amsterdam and Flörsheim (pH-KCl 4.8–5.1 and 5.3–5.9, respectively) than in the less acidic soils of Bangor and Coimbra (pH-KCl 5.8–6.6 and 6.4–7.1, respectively). Fate of carbendazim in soil showed similar patterns in the two TME tests and the corresponding field-validation study performed at each site. The only exception was Flörsheim, where the compound was significantly more persistent in the field probably due to different climatic conditions. Carbendazim was not recovered from leachates produced in the TME tests, nor was the compound detected in soil layers deeper than 15 cm. This demonstrates that no significant leaching occurred. This study demonstrates that the TME tests were quite successful in predicting the fate of carbendazim under field conditions.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aharonson, N. and Katan, J. (1993). Delayed and enhanced biodegradation of soil-applied diphenamid, carbendazim and aldicarb. Arch. Insect. Biochem. Physiol. 22, 451-66.
Austin, D.J. and Briggs, G.G. (1976). A new extraction method for benomyl residues in soil and its application in movement and persistence studies. Pestic. Sci. 7, 201-10.
Baude, F.J., Pease, H.L. and Holt, R.F. (1974). Fate of benomyl in field soil and turf. J. Agric. Food Chem. 22, 413-8.
Cancela, G.D., Taboada, E.R. and Sanchez-Rasero, F. (1992). Carbendazim adsorption on montmorillonite, peat and soils. J. Soil Sci. 43, 99-111.
Chalam, A.V., Sasikala, C., Ramana, C.V. and Rao, P.R. (1996). Effect of pesticides on hydrogen metabolism of Rhodobacter sphaeroides and Rhodopseudomonas palustris. FEMS Microb. Ecol. 19, 1-4.
Commission of the European Communities (1991). Council Directive 91/414/EEC of 15 July 1991 concerning the placing of plant protection products on the market. Off. J. Eur. Commun: L 230/1.
Cremlyn, R.J. (1991). Agrochemicals-Preparation and Mode of Action, 396 pp. Wiley Press, Chichester.
Cuppen, J.G.M., Van den Brink, P.J., Camps, E., Uil, K.F. and Brock, T.C.M. (2000). Impact of the fungicide carbendazim on freshwater microcosms. I. Water quality, breakdown of particulate organic matter and responses of macroinvertebrates. Aquat. Toxicol. 48, 233-50.
Frahm, J. (1973). Verhalten und Nebenwirkungen von Benomyl. Z. Pflanzenkrankh. 80, 431-46.
Frampton, G.K. and Wratten, S.D. (2000). Effects of benzimidazole and triazole fungicide use on epigeic species of Collembola in wheat. Ecotoxicol. Environ. Saf. 46, 64-72.
Führ, F., Hance, R.J., Plimmer, J.R. and Nelson, J.O. (eds) (1998). The Lysimeter Concept-Environmental Behaviour of Pesticides. ACS Symposium Series 699, 1-284.
Gillett, J.W. and Witt, J.-M. (1979). Terrestrial Microcosms. Proceedings, Corvallis, Oregon, June 13-14, 1977, Report NSF/RA-790034, National Science Foundation, Washington DC, USA.
Hogendoorn, E.A., Westhuis, K., Dijkman, E., Heusinkveld, E.A.G., Chamraskul, P., Biadul, P., Baumann, R.A., Cornelese, A.A. and Van der Linden, M.A. (2000). Determination of carbendazim in water, soil and sediment samples by RPLC with and without column switching and various spectrophotometric detection modes. Int. J. Environ. Anal. Chem. 78, 67-85.
Holtman, M.A. and Kobayashi, D.Y. (1997). Identification of Rhodococcus erythropolis isolates capable of degrading the fungicide carbendazim. Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 47, 578-82.
Kidd, H. and James, D.R. (1992). The Agrochemistry Handbook, 3rd edn. Cambridge: Royal Society of Chemistry.
Kirkland, J.J., Holt, R.F. and Pease, H.L. (1973). Determination of benomyl residues in soils and plant tissues by high-speed cation exchange liquid chromatography. J. Agric. Food Chem. 21, 368-71.
Knacker, T., Van Gestel, C.A.M., Jones, S.E., Soares, A.M.V.M., Schallna, H.-J., Förster, B. and Edwards, C.A. (2004). Ring-testing and field-validation of a Terrestrial Model Ecosystem (TME)-an instrument for testing potentially harmful substances: conceptual approach and study design. Ecotoxicology 13, 9-27.
Li, C.Y. and Nelson, E.E. (1985). Persistence of benomyl and captan and their effects on microbial activity in field soils. Bull. Environ. Contam. Toxicol. 34, 533-40.
Lichtenstein., E.P. and Liang, T.T. (1987). Fate of simulated rain on the transport of fonofos and carbofuran from agricultural soil in a three-part environmental microcosm. J. Agric. Food Chem. 35, 173-178.
Liu, L.X. and Hsiang, T. (1994). Bioassays for benomyl adsorption and persistence in soil. Soil Biol. Biochem. 26, 317-24.
Liu, L.X. and Hsiang, T. (1996). Estimating benzimidazole residues in thatch and turfgrass by bioassay. Pestic. Sci. 46, 139-43.
Lord, K.A., Briggs, G.G., Neale, M.C. and Manlove, R. (1980). Uptake of pesticides from water and soil by earthworms. Pesticz. Sci. 11, 401-8.
Lyr, H. and Palter, C. (1979). Systemic Fungicides. Berlin: Akademie-Verlag.
Matser, A.M. and Leistra, M. (2000). Bioavailability of the Fungicides Carbendazim and Iprodione in Soil, Alone and in Mixtures. Wageningen: Alterra, Green World Research, Report no. 156.
Menge, J.A. (1982). Effects of soil fumigants and fungicides on vesicular-arbuscular fungi. Phytopathology 72, 1125-32.
Müller, F. and Jiang, S. (1990). Uptake, distribution and metabolism of 14C-labelled carbendazim in Gossypium hirsutum. Z. Pflanzenkr. Pflanzensch. 97, 216-29.
Nicholls, P.H. and Evans, A.A. (1991). Sorption of ionizable organic-compounds by field soils 2. Pestic. Sci. 33, 331-45.
Peeples, J.L. (1974). Microbial activity in benomyl-treated soils. Phytopathology 64, 857-60.
Römbke, J., Knacker, T., Förster, B. and Marcinkowski, A. (1994). Comparison of effects of two pesticides on soil organisms in laboratory tests, microcosms and in the field. In M.H. Donker, H. Eijsackers, and F. Heimbach, (eds). pp. 229-40. Ecotoxicology of Soil Organisms. Boca Raton: Lewis Publishers.
Römbke, J. and Moltmann, J.F. (1996). Applied Ecotoxicology. Boca Raton: Lewis Publishers.
Sheppard, S.C. (1997). Toxicity testing using microcosms. In J., Tarradellas, G. Bitton and D. Rossel, (eds), pp. 345-73. Soil Ecotoxicology, Boca Raton: Lewis Publishers.
Sisler, H.D. (1982). Biodegradation of agricultural fungicides. In F. Matsumura and C.R. Krishna Murti, (eds). pp. 133-55. Biodegradation of Pesticides. New York: Plenum Press.
Specht, W. and Tillkes, M. (1985). Gas-chromatographic determination of pesticide residues after clean-up by gelpermeation chromatography and mini-silica-gel-column chromatography. 5. Fresen. Z. Anal. Chem. 322, 443-55.
Süss, A. and Pritzl, E. (1977). Sorption, Abbau und Pflanzenverfügbarkeit von Carbendazim. Z. Pflanzenkr. Pflanzenschutz 84, 352-62.
Thiapar, S., Bhushan, R. and Mathur, R.P. (1995). Degradation of organophosphorus and carbamate pesticides in soils-HPLC determination. Biomedical Chromatography 9, 18-22.
Thomas, M.R. and Wardman, O.L. (1999). Pesticide usage survey report 150: review of usage of pesticides in agriculture and horticulture throughout Great Britain 1986-1996. London: MAFF Publications.
Torstensson, L. and Wessén, B. (1984). Interactions between the fungicide benomyl and soil microorganisms. Soil Biol. Biochem. 16, 445-52.
Van Straalen, N.M. and Van Rijn, J.P. (1998). Ecotoxicological risk assessment of soil fauna recovery from pesticide application. Rev. Environ. Contam. Toxicol. 154, 83-141.
Van Voris, P., Tolle, D.A. and Arthur M.F. (1985). Experimental Terrestrial Soil-Core Microcosm Test Protocol. Washington: United States Environmental Protection Agency. EPA/600/3-85/047 PNL-5450, UC-11.
Van Wensem, J., Jagers op Akkerhuis, G.A.J.M. and Van Straalen, N.M. (1991). Effect of the fungicide triphenyltin hydroxide on soil fauna mediated litter decomposition. Pest. Sci. 32, 307-16.
Velthorst, E.J. (1993). Manual for Chemical Water Analysis. Department of Soil Science and Geology, Agricultural University, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
Venedikian, N., Chiocchio, V., Martinez, A., Menendez, A., Ocampo, J.A. and Godeas, A. (1999). Influence of the fungicides carbendazim and chlorothalonil on spore germination, arbuscular mycorrhizal colonisation and growth of soybean plants. Agrochimica 43, 105-9.
Vink, K. and Van Straalen, N.M. (1999). Effects of benomyl and diazinon on isopod-mediated leaf litter decomposition in microcosms. Pedobiologia 43, 345-59.
Wainwright, M. and Pugh, G.J.F. (1973). The effect of three fungicides on nitrification and ammonification in soil. Soil Biol. Biochem. 5, 577-84.
World Health Organisation (1993). Carbendazim. Environmental Health Criteria 149. Published under the joint sponsorship of the United Nations Environment Programme, the International Labour Organisation, and the World Health Organisation, Geneva, Switzerland, pp. 1-125.
Yarden, O., Katan, J., Aharonson, N. and Ben-Yephet, Y. (1985). Delayed and enhanced degradation of benomyl and carbendazim in disinfected and fungicide-treated soils. Phytopathology 75, 763-7.
Yarden, O., Aharonson, N. and Katan, J. (1987). Accelerated microbial degradation of methyl benzimidazol-2-ylcarbamate in soil and its control. Soil Biol. Biochem. 19, 735-9.
Yarden, O., Gamliel, A., Aharonson, N. and Katan, J. (1989). Solarization enhances dissipation of carbendazim (MBC) in soil. Soil Biol. Biochem. 21, 857-61.
Yarden, O., Salomon, R. and Katan, J. (1990). Involvement of fungi and bacteria in enhanced and nonenhanced biodegradation of carbendazim and other benzimidazole compounds in soil. Can. J. Microbiol. 36, 15-23.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Jones, S.E., Williams, D.J., Holliman, P.J. et al. Ring-testing and Field-validation of a Terrestrial Model Ecosystem (TME) – An Instrument for Testing Potentially Harmful Substances: Fate of the Model Chemical Carbendazim. Ecotoxicology 13, 29–42 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:ECTX.0000012403.90709.c9
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:ECTX.0000012403.90709.c9