Samuel Dennis, Jason Oliver, and Kudjo Dzantor. Tennessee State Univ, 3500 John A. Merritt Blvd, Nashville, TN 37209
The Japanese beetle (Popillia japonica Newman) is a very destructive pest; known to cause large-scale damage to both horticultural and nursery stocks. Chlorpyrifos [(0,0-diethyl 0-(3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridinynl) phosphorothioate] is a non-systemic organophosphate pesticide used to control soil-borne insects such as Japanese beetle grubs. The study was conducted to determine the degradation rate of chlorpyrifos in nursery soils. A 1X rate representing the application rate of chlorpyrifos used in the control of Japanese beetle in the field quarantine systems was used in a laboratory incubation study. Three soil types were used to ensure differences in soil particle size distribution. The degradation rates of chlorpyrifos tend to vary with tested soils.