Polubesova, T., Faculty of Agricultural, Food/Environmental Quality Sciences, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot 76100, Israel, Seagram Ctr. for Soil/Water Sciences, Fac. Agric. Food/Environ. Qual. Sci., Hebrew Univ. of Jerusalem, P.O. Box 12, Rehovot 76100, Israel
Nir, S., Faculty of Agricultural, Food/Environmental Quality Sciences, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot 76100, Israel
Rabinovitz, O., Faculty of Agricultural, Food/Environmental Quality Sciences, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot 76100, Israel
Borisover, M., Inst. of Soil, Water/Environ. Sci., Volcani Center, ARO, 50250 Bet Dagan, Israel
Rubin, B., Faculty of Agricultural, Food/Environmental Quality Sciences, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot 76100, Israel

Interactions of the herbicide sulfentrazone with the cationic surfactants octadecyltrimethylammonium (ODTMA), hexadecyltrimethylammonium (HDTMA), and benzyldimethylhexadecylammonium (BDM-HDA) have been studied for the design of slow-release formulations based on sulfentrazone adsorbed on a micelle-montmorillonite complex. Adsorbed amounts of sulfentrazone on ODTMA- and BDMHDA-montmorillonite complexes were 99.2-99.8% of that added, and desorption of herbicide in water during 24 h was low. After 10 washings in funnels with soil, only 2.6% of herbicide was released from ODTMA-montmorillonite formulations versus 100% release from the commercial formulation. The strong binding of sulfentrazone to micelles was confirmed by pH and spectroscopic measurements and was explained by the formation of ionic pairs between cationic surfactant and anionic herbicide. The ODTMA-clay and commercial formulations of sulfentrazone yield almost complete and 40% growth inhibition of green foxtail, respectively, at 700 g of active ingredient/ha. Hence, the slow release from micelle-clay formulations of sulfentrazone promotes its biological activity and reduces environmental contamination.