Transport and fate of atrazine and lambda-cyhalothrin in an agricultural drainage ditch in the Mississippi Delta, USA

Drainage ditches are integral components of agricultural production landscape, yet their contaminant mitigation capacity has been scarcely examined. If ditches are indeed capable of contaminant mitigation, then their use may serve as an alternative agricultural best management practice (BMP). A 50 m portion of an agricultural drainage ditch, located in the Mississippi Delta Management Systems Evaluation Area (MDMSEA), USA, was amended with a mixture of water, atrazine (2-chloro-4-ethylamino-6-isopropylamino-s-triazine) (herbicide) and lambda-cyhalothrin (-cyano-3-phenoxybenzyl-3-(2chloro-3,3,3-trifluoroprop-1-enyl)-2,2-dimethyl cyclopropanecarboxylate) (insecticide), simulating a storm runoff event. Pesticide amendment was achieved using a diffuser to disperse the mixture at an inflow point along the ditch (designated as “0 m”). Pesticide concentrations in water, sediment, and plants were monitored for 28 days. One hour following initiation of simulated runoff, mean percentages of atrazine concentrations measured in water and sediment were 37 and 2%, respectively, while mean percentages of lambda-cyhalothrin concentrations in water and sediment were 12 and 1%, respectively. Atrazine and lambda-cyhalothrin mean percentage concentrations in plants (Polygonum(water smartweed), Leersia(cutgrass), and Sporobolus (smutgrass)) were 61 and 87%, respectively. Therefore, plants serve as an important site for pesticide sorption during runoff events. Aqueous concentrations of both pesticides decreased to levels which would not elicit non-target toxicological effects by the end of the 50 m portion of the drainage ditch. This research provides fundamental answers concerning the capability of vegetated agricultural drainage ditches to mitigate pesticide-associated storm water runoff. Published by Elsevier Science B.V.