Aspects of the selective phytotoxicity of methazole. I. Measurements of species response, spray retention and leaf surface characteristics

Summary: The responses of onion ( Allium cepa ). Veronica persica, Matricaria matricarioides and Stellaria media to post‐emergence applications of methazole were measured in field and glasshouse experiments. Stellaria media was the most susceptible species and V. persica the least. Plants of all species became more tolerant the larger they were at the time of treatment, and this was most pronounced in onion. Onion generally retained less spray per unit of dry weight than the other three species and retention was less on old compared with young plants, whereas with the weed species, this did not change appreciably with age. There was a progressive increase in the amount of structured crystalline wax on successive onion leaves which resulted in larger contact angles between droplets and the leaf surfaces and lower spray retention per unit of dry weight. There was less wax development on the leaf surfaces, increased spray retention, and increased susceptibility to methazole in onion treated pre‐emergence with ethofumesate thus confirming that these factors are interrelated. While the increased tolerance of onion to methazole with age could be explained in part by decreased retention of herbicide, this was not so for the weed species, and other factors must determine their change in tolerance with age.