1Department of Agriculture Chemicals, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Mohanpur, Nadia-741 252 (West Bengal), India
2Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India
3Department of Soil Science, Rajendra Agricultural University, Bihar, Pusa, India
4Division of Soil Science and Agriculture Chemistry, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agriculture Science and Technology-Jammu-180 009 (J & K), India
Department of Soil Science, Rajendra Agricultural University, Dholi Campus, Muzaffarpur-843 121 (Bihar), India
*Email of corresponding author: sanjaybhu@rediffmail.com
The downward movement and distribution of endosulfan was investigated in some agricultural soils of Uttar Pradesh, India. The pH of soil was neutral to slightly alkaline in nature with sandy loam, sandy clay loam and loamy sand in texture. Amounts of a and b isomers of endosulfan retained in soil ranged from 81.15 to 77.67 μ g−1 and 84.46 to 81.09 μ g−1 (up to 10 cm depth), respectively. The recovered amount of a and b isomers of endosulfan in the leachates, which ranged from 1.578 to 2.049μ g−1 and 1.327 to1.875μ g−1 depending upon the content of organic matter. The study showed that the soil organic matter and clay content restricted the downward movement of the pesticide in soil.
Gas chromatograph, Organic matter, Pesticide, Sandy clay loam, Soil characteristics
