Changes in sorption of imidacloprid with incubation time

Changes in sorption of the insecticide imidacloprid (1-[(6-chloro-3-pyridinyl)-methyl]-N-nitro-2 imidazolidinimine) with aging in three soils have been determined. Soil moisture was adjusted to -33 kea and C-14- and analytical-grade imidacloprid added to the soil at a rate of 1.0 mg kg(-1). Imidacloprid-spiked soils were incubated at 25 degrees C for 16 wk, Replicate soil samples were periodically extracted successively; with 0.01 M CaCl2, acetonitrile, and 1 M HCl, Sorption, as indicated bg the sorption coefficient (K-d) values, was highest in the soil with highest organic C content, and increased by an average factor of 2.8 in the three soils during the incubation period. This increase was the result of a decrease in the imidacloprid extractable with CaCl2 (solution phase) and the increase in the amount of imidacloprid extractable with acetonitrile and HCl (sorbed phase) with incubation time. it is not known whether the increase in sorption was the result of imidacloprid diffusion to less accessible or stronger binding sites with time, a rate of degradation in solution and on labile sites that is faster than the rate of desorption, or a combination of the two processes, These results are, however, further evidence that increases in sorption during pesticide aging should be taken into account during characterization of the sorption process for mathematical models of pesticide leaching.