Degradation of linuron and some other herbicides and fungicides by a linuron-inducible enzyme obtained from Bacillus sphaericus.

Linuron [3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1-methoxy-1-methylurea] induces the formation of an enzyme (acylamidase) responsible for the degradation of a large variety of different herbicides and fungicides of the acylanilide and phenylurea type. The former type is degraded at a rate at least 10 times higher than the latter.