Abstract: Adsorption and leaching of tebuthiuron in soil and their affecting factorswere studied with vibrating equilibrium method and column leaching method. Results show that adsorption of the substance in 5 soil samples tested waswell fitted with a linearmodel. The soils followed an order of Northeast China black soil > Taihu region paddy soil > J iangxi red soil > Nanjing yellow brown soil > Shaanxi fluvo2aquic soil in terms of tebuthiuron adsorption capacity. Their adsorption constant ranged between 0.19 and 2.87 mL·g-1 , indicating that their adsorption capabilitywas rather low. The leaching experiments of tebuthiuron in the three typ ical soils show that tebuthiuron was quite leachable, and the soils followed an order of J iangxi red soil > Taihu region paddy soil > Northeast China black soil. The main factor affecting the adsorption and leaching of tebuthiuron was organic matter content in the soil.

Key words: tebuthiuron, adsorption, leaching, soil, organic matter