The degradation of diflubenzuron and its chief metabolites in soils. Part I: Hydrolytic cleavage of diflubenzuron

Abstract

Abstract [ 14 C]Diflubenzuron is readily degraded in various agricultural soils and in hydro‐soil; 50% of the applied dose of 1 mg kg −1 was metabolised in 2 days or less. The chief products of hydrolysis were identified as 4‐chlorophenylurea and 2, 6‐difluorobenzoic acid. A part of the radioactivity, increasing with incubation time, could not be extracted. Release from the soil of [ 14 C]carbon dioxide, derived from both labelled phenyl rings, points to the ultimate mineralisation of diflubenzuron.