Indaziflam and simazine degradation under electricity fluxes applied in soil for weed control

• Grant number: 24/06220-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: August 01, 2024
• End date: November 30, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agronomy - Crop Science
• Principal Investigator: Valdemar Luiz Tornisielo
• Grantee: Ana Laura Camachos de Oliveira
• Supervisor: Marcelo Luvizotto Moretti
• Host Institution: Centro de Energia Nuclear na Agricultura (CENA). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Oregon State University (OSU), United States
• Associated to the scholarship: 22/12619-4 - Organic residues as materials reducing the impact of preemergent herbicides on soil microbial activity, BP.IC

Abstract

Although herbicides are commonly used for weed control, their use can have harmful environmental and agronomic effects, and can lead to weed resistance. However, electric weed control can be used in conjunction with chemical control to decrease the risk of resistance. It is important to note that the effects of electricity on pre-emergent herbicides in the soil are not yet fully understood. Indaziflam and simazine are commonly used pre-emergent herbicides in annual and perennial crops, and are therefore present in the soil. Due to this, the aims of this project include verifying the effect of the electricity in the stability of pre-emergent herbicides applied in the soil. In order to do that, this study will consist of applying three different electrical intensities in soils with indaziflam and simazine; the herbicides will be extracted to verify degradation by chromatography. It is expected to understand how indaziflam and simazine will have their half-life affected by electric weed control. The influence of this control mechanism in chemical control could change the functionality of these two pre-emergent herbicides, affecting their efficacy and changing their persistence in soil. The results of this project will be useful to know if both kinds of weed control can be used together. Furthermore, the data obtained with this study could denote if electrical application in soil is a way to reduce pesticides in the environment.