Effects of Diluent Volumes and Surfactant on the Phytotoxicity of Glyphosate to Bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon)

Abstract

Glyphosate [N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine] toxicity to bermudagrass [Cynodon dactylon(L.) Pers.] increased as 0.84 kg/ha of the herbicide was applied in decreasing volumes of diluent from 374 to 47 L/ha. Visible injury to bermudagrass varied from 18 to 91% depending upon the spray solution formulation and diluent volume. The addition of surfactant to glyphosate (MON 0139) formulated without surfactant increased bermudagrass injury at each diluent volume tested. Glyphosate commercially formulated with surfactant (MON 2139) was the most toxic of the three formulations to bermudagrass. Regrowth of bermudagrass clipped at the soil surface 48 h after treatment ranged from 10% of the untreated control with MON 2139 at 47 L/ha to 100% of the control with MON 0139 at 374 L/ha. The MON 2139 formulation showed as much as a six-fold increase in foliage regrowth when the diluent volume was increased from 47 to 374 L/ha.