Experiments were conducted to evaluate the occurrence and significance of release of herbicide through subterranean parts of nicosulfuron-treated johnsongrass. In a bioassay, the rooting medium of johnsongrass treated foliarly with 50 or 100 μg nicosulfuron plant−1 was inhibitory to the radicle elongation of sorghum and corn indicating the increased toxicity of the rooting medium of nicosulfuron-treated johnsongrass. The study with 14C-nicosulfuron indicated a basipetal translocation of foliarly applied nicosulfuron in johnsongrass to its roots/rhizomes and also into the rooting medium. By 30 DAT, around 23% of the 14C-label absorbed by johnsongrass was found exuded into the rooting medium. Radiochromatogram scans of thin layer chromatography plates of rooting medium indicated unmetabolized nicosulfuron as the major 14C-labeled compound (56%). The study also revealed a subsequent uptake of exuded 14C by corn roots sharing the medium. On the whole, the amount of 14C-label recovered from untreated corn amounted to 4.3% of the total applied to johnsongrass. In another experiment, the presence of nicosulfuron in the rooting medium was detrimental to corn growth. Reductions in corn growth occurred at concentrations of 10−8 M nicosulfuron or greater in the rooting medium. The sensitivity of corn to root uptake was attributed to greater accumulation of nicosulfuron at a faster rate in the growing parts.