Mobility and Distribution of Buthidazole and Metabolites in Four Leached Soils

Buthidazole {3-[5-(1,1-dimethylethyl)-1,3,4-thiadiazol-2-yl}-4-hydroxyl-1-methyl-2-imidazolidinone} was incubated for 30 days and then leached through Norfolk loamy sand, Lakeland loamy sand, Davidson clay, and Alamance silt loam soils. Similar amounts of the herbicide leached through all of the soils, but distribution in the soils varied greatly.14C-buthidazole distribution in the Lakeland and Norfolk sandy soils was relatively uniform throughout the soil columns. In the Alamance silt loam and Davidson clay, much greater amounts of buthidazole were found in the upper soil zones than in the lower zones. Six metabolites of buthidazole (dihydroxy, desmethyl dihydroxy, dehydrate, methylurea, urea, and amine) were distributed in varying amounts in each of the soils.