The Effectiveness of Rice Husk Biochar Application to Metsulfuron Methyl Persistence

Abstract

Metsulfuron methyl is an herbicide which has low toxicity and rapidly degraded in the soil, however DuPont stated that it is very poisonous to aquatic organism. Rice husk biochar is commonly used as ameliorants, moreoverit has ability to absorb and degradeharmful chemicals. This study aimed at investigating the effectiveness of rice husk biochar application towards the persistence of metsulfuronmethyl in soil and seepage water. This study applied completely randomized design factorial with two levels of herbicide dose (0 and 300 gr/ha) and four levels of percentage of rice husk biochar(0%, 5%, 10% and 15% of total soil). The results of this research revealed that there was no metsulfuron methyl residue in soil of all treatments after 28 days of herbicide treatment. The residue was found in seepageas much as 7.7 μg/L in treatment of 0% husk biochar and 6.8 μg/L in treatment of 5%husk biochar. The seepage reduced by the increasing of the percentage of rice husk biochar application. Thus, it can be concluded that giving the rice husk biochar is effective for absorbing metsulfuron methyl and preventing it from leaching. However, itcould not hold the presence of metsulfuron methyl longer in soil.