Response of two wheat cultivars （Triticum aestivum cv. YM 158 and NM 9） to the herbicide chlorotoluron and the effect of two forms of dissolved organic matter on the chlorotoluron toxicity to the plants were characterized. Treatment with chlorotoluron at 10-50 μg/ml inhibited the seed germination and a dose-response was observed. The inhibition of seed germination was correlated to the depression of a-amylase activities. To identify whether chlorotoluron induced oxidative damage to wheat plants, the malondlaldehyde （MDA） content and electrolyte leakage were measured. Results showed that both MDA content and electrolyte leakage in the chlorotoluron-treated roots significantly increased. Activities of several key enzymes were measured that operate in citric acid cycle and carbohydrate metabolic pathway. Inhibited activities of citrate synthase and NADP-isocitrate dehydrogenase were observed in the chlorotoluron-treated roots as compared to control plants. We also examined malate dehydrogenase and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase in wheat roots exposed to 30 μg/ml chlorotoluron, liowever, none of the enzymes showed significant changes in activities. Application of 160 μg/ml dissolved organic matter （DOM） extracted from non-treated sludge（NTS） and heat-expanded sludge （lIES） in the medium with 30 μg/ml chlorotoluron induced an additive inhibition of seed germination and plant growth. The inhibition of growth due to the DOM treatment was associated with the depression of activities of a-amylase, citrate synthase and NADP-isocitrate dehydrogenase, as well as the increase in malondlaldehyde content and electrolyte leakage. These results suggested that the presence of DOM might enhance the uptake and accumulation of chlorotoluron, and thus resulted in greater toxicity in wheat plants. The two forms of DOM exhibited differences in regulation of chlorotoluron toxicity to the wheat plants. Treatments with DOM-NTS induced greater toxicity to plants as compared to those with DOM-HES. In addition to DOM
SONG Ning-huiYANG Zhi-minZHOU Li-xianWU XinYANG Hong
A batch equilibrium techniques was used to examine the effect of dissolved organic matter (DOM) extracted from both non-treated sludge (NTS) and heat-expanded sludge (HES) on the sorption and desorption of chlorotoluron (3-(3- chloro-p-tolyl)-l,l-dimethylurea) in two types of soils, a yellow fluvo-aquic and a red soil from China. Without DOM, sorption of chlorotoluron was significantly greater (P < 0.05) in the red soil than in the yellow fluvo-aquic soil. However, with DOM the effect was dependent on the soil type and nature of DOM. Chlorotoluron sorption was lower in the yellow fluvo-aquic soil than in the red soil, suggesting that with the same DOM levels the yellow fluvo-aquic soil had a lower sorption capacity for this herbicide. Application of DOM from both NTS and HES led to a general decrease in sorption to the soils and an increase in desorption from the soils. Desorption of chlorotoluron also significantly increased (P < 0.05) with an increase in the DOM concentration. Additionally, for sorption and desorption, at each DOM treatment level the NTS treatments were significantly lower (P < 0.05) than the HES treatments. This implied that non-treated sludge had a greater effect on the sorption and desorption of chlorotoluron than heat-expanded sludge.
