Glyphosate sorption and desorption in soils with distinct phosphorus levels

Abstract

The sorption of glyphosate by soils occurs due to the inner sphere complex formation with metals of soil oxides, which are related to the soil phosphate adsorption capacity. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of increasing rates of phosphorus on sorption and desorption of glyphosate in three soils with different mineralogical attributes. Soils were a Rhodic Kandiudalf, an Anionic Acrudox and a Typic Humaquept. Soil samples were amended with KH2PO4 at equivalent rates of 0; 1,000; 5,000; 20,000 and 50,000 kg ha-1 of P2O5, which are high from the agricultural point of view, but necessary in order to perform sorption and desorption studies. The experimental design consisted of a completely randomized factorial: 2 soils x 5 phosphorus rates and 3 replicates. For the sorption experiments, five glyphosate solutions were employed (0.42; 0.84; 1.68; 3.36 and 6.72 mg L-1), with a 14C radioactivity of 0.233 kBq mL-1. Four steps of the desorption procedure with CaCl2 0.01 mol L-1 and one extraction with Mehlich 3 were performed only at one concentration (0.84 mol L-1). Soil samples were afterwards biologically oxidized to establish the radioactive balance. Glyphosate competes with phosphorus for specific sorption sites, but this competition becomes important when phosphorus is present at rates higher than 1,000 mg dm-3. Moreover, a small amount of applied glyphosate was extracted (<10%), and the extraction increased with increasing soil phosphorus content.