Effect of light on the degradation of two neonicotinoids viz acetamiprid and thiacloprid in soil

Persistence of two neonicotinoids viz thiacloprid and acetamiprid in soil as affected by UV and sunlight exposure was studied. Treated soil was placed in petri-plates, brought to field capacity moisture and then exposed to UV and sunlight. Dissipation for both the pesticides followed monophasic first order kinetics under sunlight, however under UV-light biphasic dissipation was recorded. Residues of acetamiprid and thiacloprid in soil dissipated with half-lives of 11.1 and 12.8 days under UV light and 25.1 and 19.1 days under sunlight, respectively. Residues of both the neonicotinoids dissipated quickly under UV light as compared to sunlight. Exposure of thin film of acetamiprid and thiacloprid to UV and sunlight revealed that acetamiprid is more photo labile than thiacloprid. More than 95% acetamiprid dissipated within 24 h as compared to similar to 70% dissipation observed for thiacloprid.