Dissipation kinetics and residues of triazolopyrimidine herbicides flumetsulam and florasulam in corn ecosystem

The dynamic and residues of florasulam and flumetsulam in corn field ecosystem were investigated using quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe (QuEChERS) procedure with high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). The limits of quantification (LOQs) of the proposed method ranged from 0.005 to 0.01 mg/kg. Mean recoveries and relative standard deviations (RSDs) of the two compounds in all samples at three spiking levels ranged 94-110 % and 2.0-9.2 %, respectively. Florasulam and flumetsulam degradation followed first-order kinetics with half-lives 1.7-2.9 and 3.3-8.7 days in soil and 1.3-1.8 and 0.9-1.7 days in plant, respectively. The residues in all the samples were found to be less than the LOQs at preharvest intervals of 53 and 78 days. The results suggest that the combined use of florasulam and flumetsulam on corn is considered to be safe under the recommended conditions and can be utilized for establishing the maximum residue limit (MRL) of florasulam in corn in China.