Factors Affecting Thiocarbamate Injury to Corn I. Temperature and Soil Moisture

Abstract

Corn (Zea maysL.) was grown in EPTC-(S-ethyl dipropylthiocarbamate) and butylate-(S-ethyl diisobutylthiocarbamate) treated soil at 33 and 15% moisture in growth chambers at 30 and 20 C. EPTC (6 and 18 ppm) and butylate (19 and 50 ppm) reduced corn growth more at 30 than at 20 C. The days before emergence of the corn coleoptile were the most critical time for thiocarbamate injury. When plants were grown at 30 C before emergence more injury occurred at 33% soil moisture than at 15% except with butylate at 19 ppm. At 20 C, however, plants grew as tall or taller at 33% soil moisture than at 15% except for butylate at 19 ppm. Addition of R-25788 (N,N-diallyl-2,2-dichloroacetamide) to EPTC and butylate increased by about 10 times the amount of herbicide required to injure corn. With R-25788 the toxicity of these two herbicides was not influenced greatly by either temperature or soil moisture.