Plant uptake of aldicarb from contaminated soil and its enhanced degradation in the rhizosphere

Experiments were conducted to investigate the degradation of aldicarb, an oxime carbamate insecticide, in sterile, non-sterile and plant-grown soils, and the capability of different plant species to accumulate the pesticide. The degradation of aldicarb in soil followed first-order kinetics. Half lives (t(1/2)) of aldicarb in sterile and non-sterile soil were 12.0 and 2.7 days, respectively, which indicated that microorganisms played an important part in the degradation of aldicarb in soil. Aldicarb disappeared more quickly (p less than or equal to 0.05) in the soil with the presence of plants, and t(1/2) of the pesticide were 1.6, 1.4 and 1.7 days in the soil grown with corn, mung bean and cowpea, respectively. Comparison of plant-promoted degradation and plant uptake showed that the enhanced removal of aldicarb in plant-grown soil was mainly due to plant-promoted degradation in the rhizosphere. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.