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Pathways of dicyandiamide uptake in pasture plants: a laboratory study

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Abstract

The nitrification inhibitor, dicyandiamide (DCD), can mitigate nitrate leaching and nitrous oxide emissions in New Zealand pastures and was commercially available to farmers until 2013, when its use was suspended due to detection of traces of DCD in exported milk. This prompted the investigation of the proportion of DCD taken up by pasture plants via foliage/roots. We measured the foliar and root uptake of DCD in two separate laboratory experiments using freshly collected in situ pasture cores (0–100-mm depth; 100-mm diameter) with a cover of ryegrass/clover. In the first experiment, DCD (10 kg ha−1) was sprayed onto the foliage of the cores that was analyzed over 21 days. In the second experiment, DCD was mixed thoroughly with the soil in the cores of two different soil types and repacked back into the cores and foliage analyzed over 37 days. Of the applied DCD, average foliar interception was 56 %, while 2.7 to 5.2 % of applied DCD was absorbed that did not change with time. Roots took up 2.6 to 6.3 % of applied DCD, which increased over time in both soils but with little pasture growth. After 97 days of application, no DCD was detected in the soil/roots. During the experimental period, we observed no change in the DCD concentration inside the pasture plants after uptake by the leaves or the roots. This DCD in pasture plants, if consumed by animals, may contribute to DCD in animal products.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by Core funding for Crown research institutes from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s Science and Innovation Group. Thanks to Sarah Stephens (Royal Society of New Zealand Science Teacher Fellow) for helping in sample processing, Anne Austin for editing, Drs. Miko Kirschbaum and Donna Giltrap for scientific critique, Thilak Palmada and Peter Berben for soil core collection, Peter Bishop (Massey University) for DCD analyses of surface residues, and Martin Kear (AgResearch, Hamilton) for DCD analyses of the pulverized extracts.

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  1. Landcare Research, Ecosystems and Global Change team, Palmerston North, New Zealand

    Pranoy Pal, Andrew M. S. McMillan & Surinder Saggar

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  1. Pranoy Pal
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  2. Andrew M. S. McMillan
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  3. Surinder Saggar
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Correspondence to Pranoy Pal.

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DCD has been withdrawn from use on farms in New Zealand and its use is now restricted to research undertaken on small plot trials or lysimeters. Protocols to ensure that DCD does not enter the food chain are supported by soil and plant testing for DCD residues.

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Pal, P., McMillan, A.M.S. & Saggar, S. Pathways of dicyandiamide uptake in pasture plants: a laboratory study. Biol Fertil Soils 52, 539–546 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00374-016-1096-6

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