Studies were conducted to evaluate uptake, translocation, and metabolism of root-absorbed ¹⁴C-sulfentrazone in peanut, prickly sida, and pitted morningglory. Peanut absorbed more than five and three times greater ¹⁴C-sulfentrazone than pitted morningglory and prickly sida, respectively. All plant species translocated appreciable amounts (≥ 39%) of radioactivity to the leaves. The three plant species had some capacity to metabolize ¹⁴C-sulfentrazone. At 3 h after treatment, 7, 29, and 71% of the radioactivity in the shoots of peanut, prickly sida, and pitted morningglory, respectively, was sulfentrazone. Sulfentrazone levels in the shoots at 3 and 6 h after treatment correspond to reported tolerance levels, with peanut being the most tolerant of the three species, whereas prickly sida and pitted morningglory are moderately tolerant and completely susceptible to sulfentrazone, respectively. Levels of metabolites varied among species, plant part, and harvest timing. On the basis of these data, tolerance in peanut is largely due to its ability to rapidly metabolize sulfentrazone.

Nomenclature: Sulfentrazone; pitted morningglory, Ipomoea lacunosa L. IPOLA; prickly sida, Sida spinosa L. SIDSP; peanut, Arachis hypogaea L. ARAHY ‘NC 12C’.