Abstract
The absorption and translocation of γ-BHC in rice plants particularly through the root systems were qualitatively examined. Experiments were conducted on rice seedlings grown in the paddy field soil treated with γ-BHC under conditions which eliminated possibility of the contamination of the aerial parts by the movement of this compound through the agency of the irrigation water on the treated soil.
It was found from the results of the experiments that γ-BHC was absorbed and translocated to the aerial plant tissues of the rice seedlings from the paddy field soil treated with a considerably large amount of this compound, and then killed newly hatched larvae of the rice stem borer feeding in the rice seedlings. It is reasonable to assume that the effectiveness of the application of γ-BHC into the paddy field soil right before the transplanting against the first generation larvae of the rice stem borer is mainly due to the absorption and translocation of γ-BHC in rice seedlings through the root systems.
It seemed that the γ-BHC also killed macropterous male adults of the brown planthopper feeding on the rice seedlings.
The absorption and translocation of γ-BHC in the rice seedlings through the root systems were found to occur slowly and faintly. The translocation of γ-BHC was correlated with the amount applied into the paddy field soil. The amount of γ-BHC translocated was larger in the leaf sheaths than in the leaf blades.
