A highly soluble pesticide is likely to be what in terms of adsorption and leaching?

• A. Easily adsorbed and stays put
• B. Evaporates quickly
• C. Degrades immediately
• D. Poorly adsorbed and more likely to leach

Answer: (D)

When a pesticide is highly soluble, it tends to stay dissolved in soil water rather than sticking to soil particles. That means it is likely to be poorly adsorbed to the soil, so it can move with percolating water through the soil profile and leach downward toward groundwater. Pesticides that bind strongly to soil particles are less prone to leaching because they stay near where they were applied, but high solubility changes that balance toward movement with water. Evaporation or immediate degradation aren’t the primary effects described by high solubility, so the option describing poor adsorption and greater leaching best fits. This underscores why highly soluble pesticides pose a higher leaching risk, especially in soils with little organic matter or in wet conditions.