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A risk assessment of sulfonylurea herbicides leaching to groundwater

Created 16/10/2025

Updated 16/10/2025

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Improvements in agricultural production help sustain the worlds burgeoning population. The question is whether agricultural technologies degrade primary soil and water resources. Sulfonylurea herbicides provide a good example of the impact of a technical innovation. Higher more-dependable wheat yields were achieved over the entire Australian wheat belt after the introduction of the sulfonylurea herbicides. More recently, farmers have expressed concern about limited recropping options and the accumulation of sulfonylurea residues in some soil types. A risk/benefit balance sheet for residual sulfonylureas indicates that benefits of sulfonylurea use far outweigh risks, particularly compared with an alternative mechanical weed control option. The overall profile of sulfonylurea herbicides fits well with the characteristics needed for sustainable farming systems. However, two potential problems were identified for sulfonylurea use on alkaline sodic soils: injury of highly susceptible legumes from sulfonylurea carryover and sulfonylurea leaching into groundwater. The risk depends largely on the amount and distribution of rainfall. Thus, problems can be averted if geographical information systems/herbicide simulation models and seasonal weather forecasts are combined to provide site specific recommendations.

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Field Value
Title A risk assessment of sulfonylurea herbicides leaching to groundwater
Language eng
Licence Not Specified
Landing Page https://data.gov.au/data/dataset/7c9fbfa0-3e40-44c9-8233-0e57959a8c68
Contact Point
Geoscience Australia Data
clientservices@ga.gov.au
Reference Period 20/04/2018
Geospatial Coverage Australia
Data Portal Geoscience Australia

Data Source

This dataset was originally found on Geoscience Australia "A risk assessment of sulfonylurea herbicides leaching to groundwater". Please visit the source to access the original metadata of the dataset:
https://ecat.ga.gov.au/geonetwork/srv/eng/csw/dataset/a-risk-assessment-of-sulfonylurea-herbicides-leaching-to-groundwater