Cotton herbicides in the surface waters of the Mississippi Alluvial Plain (the Delta)

The U.S. Geological Survey is conducting two studies to assess the environmental fate of herbicides used in cotton producing areas of the southeastern United States. The first study is evaluating surface-water quality on a regional basis and relating water quality to land use. The second study is examining the use of Best Management Practices to reduce off-site movement of agricultural chemicals in surface-water runoff. Maximum concentrations of the herbicides fluometuron and norflurazon in samples from surface water in edge-of-field studies were 23 and 7 micrograms per liter, respectively. Also, they were detected in the runoff of nearly every sampled storm for the 1997 water year at concentrations higher than 1.0 microgram per liter. Fluometuron and norflurazon were measured frequently in samples from rivers and streams in cotton producing areas, but the frequency of occurrence and the maximum concentrations were less than those in the edge-of-field studies.