Abstract
The effects of varying concentrations and durations of butachlor [N-(bytoxymethyl)-2-chlor-2', 6';-diethylacetanilide] treatment on oat (Avena sativa L.) root cell division were studied. Oats were treated from 0 to 48h with concentration ranging from 1$\times$10-6M to 1$\times$10-3M of butachlor. The highest concentration (1$\times$10-3M) of butachlor caused significant inhibition of cell division after 6h treatment. After 18h treatment, 49% and 66% inhibition of cell division occurred at 1$\times$10-5M and 1$\times$10-4M, respectively, while 16% inhibition of cell division occurred at 1$\times$10-6M concentration at same exposure period. Oat treated with 1$\times$10-5M and 1$\times$10-6M showed 69% and 38% inhibition of cell division after 36h. Increasing herbicide concentration at a specific time increased inhibition of cell division, and increasing the duration of treatment at a specific concentration also increased inhibition of cell division. In most instances the greatest inhibition of cell division occurred between 0 to 18h during 48h treatment. A range of concentration of 1$\times$10-5M to 1$\times$10-3M reduced cell enlargement significantly during 24h incubation period. The 1$\times$10-5M and 1$\times$10-3M caused 34% and 75% inhibition of cell enlargement. It was concluded that butachlor caused the growth inhibition of oats by inhibiting both cell division and cell enlargement.
