ISHS Acta Horticulturae 715: VIII International Symposium on Vaccinium Culture
DETECTION OF HEXAZINONE IN MAINE GROUNDWATER - A NINE YEAR STUDY |
| Authors: | L.B. Perkins, D.E. Yarborough, K.E. Guthrie |
| Keywords: | Vaccinium angustifolium, Velpar, Pronone, SPE, HPLC, Chromatography |
| Abstract:
Hexazinone is a systemic herbicide that has contributed to improving Maine’s wild blueberry fruit quality and increase in production by four-fold over the last 20 years. The high water solubility and stability of this herbicide, coupled with highly leachable soils found in wild blueberry fields, have resulted in ground water retention of hexazinone at levels from 0.2 to 29 ug/l. A nine-year study was conducted to determine the levels of hexazinone in and adjacent to areas of blueberry production to assess the extent of the movement of this pesticide into ground water. Seven ground water sources chosen for this study. Three were shallow test wells, ranging from 7.5 to 11.5 m deep and were located in wild blueberry fields and four were drilled wells from 30 to 80 m deep located adjacent and down-slope to wild blueberry fields. Over the nine years of monitoring, five of these wells showed decreasing levels of hexazinone, while two wells had fluctuations in herbicide concentration. Monthly data collected during the frost-free period of each year demonstrated fluctuations in hexazinone levels in all of the wells. The fluctuations may be attributed to the use of lower hexazinone rates and slow-release formulations, using alternative herbicides and cultural practices and the timing and amount of precipitation. This study supports that Best Management Practices adopted by wild blueberry growers have successfully reduced the levels of hexazinone in Maine's groundwater. | |
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