Screening effects of metsulfuron-methyl to collembolans and earthworms: the role of adjuvant addition on ecotoxicity.

Metsulfuron-methyl is a common active ingredient recommended for use in pre- and post-emergence control of annual grasses and broadleaf weeds in crops, usually applied with mineral oil as adjuvant to enhance its efficiency. Despite the increasing use of this herbicide, there are no information on its ecotoxicity effects to soil fauna. Avoidance and lethality tests were performed with earthworms and collembolans using tropical artificial soil contaminated with formulated products Ally® (600 g L metsulfuron-methyl) and Assist® (756 g L mineral oil) as adjuvant.

Do recommended doses of glyphosate-based herbicides affect soil invertebrates? Field and laboratory screening tests to risk assessment.

Despite glyphosate-based herbicides are widely used in agriculture, forestry and gardens, little is known about its effects on non-target organisms. The present work evaluated the ecotoxicity of four formulated products (Roundup Original, Trop, Zapp Qi 620 and Crucial) on soil invertebrates. Screening ecotoxicity tests were carried out with soil and oat straw collected in a field experiment, besides laboratory-spiked soils.