The effects of pesticide mixtures on degradation of pendimethalin in soils

Most agronomic situations involve a sequence of herbicide, fungicide, and insecticide application. On the other hand, use of pesticidal combinations has become a standard practice in the production of many agricultural crops. One of the most important processes influencing the behavior of a pesticide in the environment is its degradation in soil. It is known that due to several pesticide applications in one vegetation season, the pesticide may be present in mixtures with other pesticides or xenobiotics in soil. This study examines the role which a mixture of chemicals plays in pesticide degradation. The influence of other pesticides on the rate of pendimethalin (PDM) degradation in soil was measured in controlled conditions. Mixtures of PDM with mancozeb or mancozeb and thiamethoxam significantly influenced the degradation of pendimethalin under controlled conditions. The second type of mixtures, with metribuzin or thiamethoxam, did not affect the behavior of pendimethalin in soil. Also, we determined the influence of water content on the rate of pendimethalin degradation alone in two soils and compared it to the rate in three pesticide mixtures. We compared two equations to evaluate the predictors of the rate of herbicide dissipation in soil: the first-order kinetic and the non-linear empirical models. We used the non-linear empirical model assuming that the degradation rate of a herbicide in soil is proportional to the difference of the observed concentration of herbicide in soil at time and concentration of herbicide in the last day of measurement

Ein fädiger DNS-Phage und ein sphärischer RNS-Phage III Biologisches Verhalten

fd and fr adsorb to male strains of E. coli and infect female cells, after the fd-DNA (or the fr-RNA 15) have been deproteinized by phenol and after the cells have been converted to the form of spheroplasts. fd is very heat resistant, highly antigenic and poorly adsorbing. The latency period of intracellular multiplication is 10 min (in Tryptone broth at 37 °C). The most unusual property seems to be that fd is the only phage on record which is liberated by the host cell without destruction of the host cell. The evidence for this is threefold: 1. in infected cultures phage is liberated at the rate of about 300 phage particles per bacterium per cell generation, and the growth rate of these cultures is indistinguishable from that of controls. 2. In such cultures no significant amounts of bacterial enzyme are liberated. 3. In single burst experiments it appears that more than 60% of the individual cells have liberated around 450 phage particles after about 20 min. and later produce bacterial growth as shown by turbidity. Non-lytic infection gives rise to an unstable carrier state. The phage is lost from the cells if superinfection is prevented by the addition of fd-antiserum. Lytic mutants of fd have been recorded. fr in its properties is similar to f2 and the other RNA phages and seems to be liberated by bacteriolysis, fr, due to the chemical nature of its nucleobases, is highly sensitive to hydroxylamine in slightly alkaline solution. Infection with fr in rare cases is non-lytic and leads to an unstable carrier state

Nanopesticides: Guiding principles for regulatory evaluation of environmental risks. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry

Nanopesticides or nano plant protection products represent an emerging technological development that, in relation to pesticide use, could offer a range of benefits including increased efficacy, durability, and a reduction in the amounts of active ingredients that need to be used. A number of formulation types have been suggested including emulsions (e.g., nanoemulsions), nanocapsules (e.g., with polymers), and products containing pristine engineered nanoparticles, such as metals, metal oxides, and nanoclays. The increasing interest in the use of nanopesticides raises questions as to how to assess the environmental risk of these materials for regulatory purposes. Here, the current approaches for environmental risk assessment of pesticides are reviewed and the question of whether these approaches are fit for purpose for use on nanopesticides is addressed. Potential adaptations to existing environmental risk assessment tests and procedures for use with nanopesticides are discussed, addressing aspects such as analysis and characterization, environmental fate and exposure assessment, uptake by biota, ecotoxicity, and risk assessment of nanopesticides in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Throughout, the main focus is on assessing whether the presence of the nanoformulation introduces potential differences relative to the conventional active ingredients. The proposed changes in the test methodology, research priorities, and recommendations would facilitate the development of regulatory approaches and a regulatory framework for nanopesticides