Dissipation of the herbicide dithiopyr in soil and residues in wheat (Triticum aestivum L) grain under Indian tropical conditions

Dissipation of dithiopyr in soil was monitored after application to wheat crop as pre- or post-emergence applications at two rates, viz 100 and 200 g AI ha(-1). The level of dithiopyr in the soil was assessed by gas chromatography, and its disappearence was found to follow a first-order decay curve irrespective of rate or method of application. The half-life in soil ranged between 17.3 and 25.0 days and residues at harvest (150 days after application) ranged between 4.0 and 8.8% of amounts applied. Investigation of microbial degradation of dithiopyr was conducted in minimal salt and Czapek Dox media in which 80% of the compound degraded within 15 days. Residues were not detected in wheat grain at harvest.