Evaluation of propargyl bromide for control of barnyardgrass and Fusarium oxysporum in three soils.

With the scheduled phasing out of methyl bromide, there is an urgent need for alternatives. We evaluated the efficacy of propargyl bromide as a potential replacement for methyl bromide for the control of barnyardgrass (Echinochloa crus-galli) and Fusarium oxysporum in an Arlington sandy loam, a Carsitas loamy sand and a Florida muck soil. Soil was mixed with barnyardgrass seeds or F oxysporum colonized on millet seeds, and treated with propargyl bromide at a range of concentrations. The mortality of the fungi and weed seeds was determined after 24 h of exposure at 30 degrees C. The concentrations required to inhibit 50% barnyard seed germination (LC50) were 2.8, 2.4 and 48.5 micrograms g-1 in the sandy loam, loamy sand and muck soil, respectively. In contrast, the LC50 values for F oxysporum were 11.2, 10.8 and 182.1 micrograms g-1 in the sandy loam, loamy sand and muck soil, respectively. The low efficacy of propargyl bromide in the muck soil was a result of the rapid degradation and high adsorption of the compound in the soil. The degradation half-life (t1/2) was only 7 h in the muck soil at an initial concentration of 6.8 micrograms g-1, compared to 60 and 67 h in the sandy loam and loamy sand, respectively. The adsorption coefficients (Kd) were 0.96, 0.87 and 5.6 cm3 g-1 in the sandy loam, loamy sand and muck soil, respectively. These results suggest that registration agencies should consider site-specific properties in recommending application rates for propargyl bromide.