4. Conclusions
Natural clays, abundant and therefore cheap materials, could be used for the retention of organic pollutants, such as pesticides, which are widely spread in the environment due to agricultural activities. In addition, clays could be used as carriers in seed coatings for the delivery of pesticides to protect seeds from different pests and diseases in early development stages. In the evaluated clays, the adsorption of metalaxyl, a polar fungicide, was more rapid and higher than that of fludioxonil, a more hydrophobic compound, probably because electrostatic interactions or hydrogen bonds were the mechanisms involved. The clay OC content and the granulometry seemed to play a fundamental role in the retention of metalaxyl and fludioxonil. The partial removal of OC, by treating the clay with an oxidant, led to a higher reduction of fludioxonil retention, leaving unaffected other clay properties, such as pH, EC, or crystalline structure. Finally, if clays are envisaged for seed treatments, the retention of metalaxyl has proven to be stable at two temperatures and for long periods of time, indicating that this strategy could be safely used. Future research will be needed to assess the antifungal activity of the proposed coating using biocidal assays in different plant species.