VIEW ARTICLE

Disease Control and Pest Management

Infusion and Translocation of Systemic Fungicides Applied to Seeds in Acetone. N. R. O’Neill, Soilborne Diseases Laboratory, Plant Protection Institute, Agricultural Research, Science and Education Administration, U. S. Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, MD 20705; G. C. Papavizas(2), and J. A. Lewis(3). (2)(3)Soilborne Diseases Laboratory, Plant Protection Institute, Agricultural Research, Science and Education Administration, U. S. Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, MD 20705. Phytopathology 69:690-694. Accepted for publication 13 December 1978. This article is in the public domain and not copyrightable. It may be freely reprinted with customary crediting of the source. The American Phytopathological Society, 1979. DOI: 10.1094/Phyto-69-690.

Systemic fungicides were applied to acid-delinted cottonseed and soybean seed either directly (direct fungicide application) or by organic solvent (acetone) infusion. Seed coats of treated and untreated seeds were removed and the concentrations of the fungicides in seed coats and embryos (cotyledons + embryo) were estimated either indirectly by bioassay or directly by the use of radioisotopes. With either method of application, most of the fungicide remained in the seed coats. However, bioassays revealed more fungicide within or upon the embryo in seeds treated with acetone infusion than in those that received it by direct application. The accumulation of fungicide in seeds exposed to acetone infusion increased as the seeds began to imbibe water. Fungicides in cotton and soybean seeds treated with acetone infusion were not leached out by water or acetone as readily as were those that had been applied by direct application. The translocation patterns and distributions of ¹⁴C-ethazol and ¹⁴C-carboxin were similar in cotton and soybean plants produced from seeds treated by either method.