Pesticide residues in apple samples on the market of Republic of Serbia 2004-2007

Our study comprised the determination of the pesticide residue content in 108 samples of apples. The pesticide residues were determined by gas chromatography with NPD, ECD and GLC - MS. The samples were iested for the content of 75 pesticides with LOD of 0.001 to 0.005 mg/kg which were lower than MRLs according to the EU standards. The relative standard deviation was lower than 19% for all the tested compounds. In the apple samples taken during 2004, the percentage of the samples positive to the pesticide residue content was 51.85% and the most frequent contaminants were *} HCH and endosulfan. In the analyzed samples, taken during 2005, out of 70.91% samples in which the pesticide residues were detected, endosulfan was present in 41.03%, captan in 35.9%, chlorpyrifos in 20.51% and parathion in 17.95%. The content of the procymidone and lambda-cyhalothrin residues were over the EU MALs. During 2006 all apple samples were residue-free. Out of 13 samples analyzed in 2007, five contained the pesticide residues below the EU MRLs with the most frequently detected dithiocarbamate

Antifeeding and insecticidal activity of Ailanthus altissima and Morus alba extracts against gipsy moth (Lymantria dispar (L.), lepidoptera, lymantridae) larvae under laboratory conditions

Gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar (L.) is one of most important defoliating pests of deciduous trees. Due to increased environmental demands, the use of plant-based preparations is gaining in importance as a control option for this pest in forestry, agriculture and horticulture. The aim of this study was to evaluate antifeeding and insecticidal activity of 0.5, 1 and 2% extracts of Ailanthus altissima bark and leaves, and Morus alba leaves, against L. dispar larvae under laboratory conditions. Antioxidant capacity of plant extracts was determined, as well as the content of phenolic compounds by spectrophotometric and HPLC-DAD methods. Antifeeding and insecticidal effects were tested in a “no-choice” test. The highest content of all bioactive phenolic compounds was in A. altissima bark and M. alba leaf extracts. The lowest leaf consumption after 24 and 48 h was in A. аltissima bark (5.03, 9.30%, respectively) and M. alba leaf (1.44, 3.22%, respectively) extracts. A. altissima bark and M. alba leaf extracts expressed strong antifeeding activity. After 24 h, all extracts expressed slight insecticidal effect (2.25-17.50% of mortality). The mortality increased after 48 h in treatments with A. altissima bark extract, at all applied concentrations (40.0-57.50%) and M. alba leaves at 1 and 2% concentrations (30.0-62.50%). Our results indicate that extracts of A. altissima bark and M. alba leaves may act as effective low-cost natural protectants able to control the presence of gypsy moth in ecosystems. Extracts of A. altissima bark and M. alba leaves expressed strong antifeeding activity and significant insecticidal effect on gypsy moth larvae, at all applied concentrations

The effect of seed treatments on wireworm (Elateridae) performance, damages and yield traits of sunflower (helianthus annuus l.)

© 2019, University of Zagreb - Faculty of Agriculture. All rights reserved. Sunflower seed treatments are inevitable measure that ensures protection from soil-dwelling insects and pathogens at the first stages of plant development. Due to the ban of neonicotinoid based insecticides for the sunflower seed treatments, new registered preparations are put to test. The aim of this work was to assess the efficacy of currently registered insecticides against the wireworms (observed in field emergence and percent of damaged plants) and their effect on yield traits (yield, oil content and 1,000-seed weight) of the sunflower hybrids (Sumo 2 OR, Oliva and Novak) in comparison to previously used neonicotinoids. Seeds were treated with different pesticidal combinations: metalaxyl-m, metalaxyl-m + bifenthrine, metalaxyl-m + thiacloprid, metalaxyl-m + thiametoxam, and metalaxyl-m + imidacloprid. Two-way ANOVA and Duncan’s multiple range tests were performed. Field emergence was not influenced by the treatment. Sumo 2 OR and Oliva emergence did not differ significantly among the treatments (78.3-88.3%; 83.0-91.3%, respectively), but for Novak it was significantly lower (79.3%) when treated with metalaxyl-m. The lowest percent of damaged plants was in the treatment with metalaxyl-m + thiametoxam (1.1-2.4%). However, it did not differ significantly among other treatments (2.4-3.9%), regardless on the hybrid. Novak had the highest average yield (3,938.1 kg/ha), followed by Sumo 2 OR (3,566.1 kg/ha), and Oliva (3,199.8 kg/ha), regardless on the applied seed treatments. The highest 1,000-seed weight was measured for Oliva. Given indicates that currently registered insecticides for the seed treatment of sunflower, such as Sonido and Semafor, can be adequate substitute to the banned neonicotinoids like Cruiser and Gaucho

Chemical composition of Clinopodium menthifolium aqueous extract and its influence on antioxidant system in black nightshade (Solanum nigrum) and pepper (Capsicum annuum) seedlings and mortality rate of whitefly (Trialeurodes vaporariorum) adults

The use of allelochemicals as weed control agents is becoming widely investigated. However, the impact of these bioherbicides on cultivated plants is less known. This study was carried out in order to evaluate the allelopathic effects of the aqueous extract of Clinopodium menthifolium on black nightshade (Solanum nigrum) antioxidant properties to explore the potential of this species in weed control and on pepper (Capsicum annuum) antioxidant properties so as to assess its possible side effects when applied as bioherbicide in organic production. Taking into account that plant extracts should be an alternative source for insect control, additional aim was also to evaluate contact effect of C. menthifolium aqueous extract against the greenhouse whitefly (Trialeurodes vaporariorum). Analysis by HPLC confirmed the presence of gallic acid, caffeic acid and 2-hidroxy-cinnamic acid as major components in the C. menthifolium aqueous extract. Both tested concentrations of C. menthifolium aqueous extract induced lipid peroxidation in black nightshade leaves and roots. It was observed that the aqueous extract with a concentration of 0.1% showed a toxic effect with 50% mortality of greenhouse whitefly adults

Optical characterization of alternaria spp. Contaminated wheat grain and its influence in early broilers nutrition on oxidative stress

The aim of this research was the visual characterization and investigating the effects of Alternaria spp. contaminated wheat grains in the starter stage of broilers nutrition on productive parameters and oxidative stress. The research was divided into two phases. Bunches of wheat in post-harvest period of year 2020 was collected from a various locality in Serbia and Albania. In the first phase, collected samples were visual characterized by Alternaria spp. presence by color measurement methods. Gained results are conferred in the range of the color properties of grain color properties of Alternaria toxins. Wheat grain samples were significantly different (p 0.05). Alternaria spp. contaminated diet increased glutathione (GSH), glutathione reductase (GR), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and decreased peroxidase (POD) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) serum levels, respectively. Built on the achieved results, it can be concluded that the wheat contaminated with Alternaria spp. in broilers nutrition negatively affected growth, decreased oxidative protection and interrupted chicken welfare in the first period of life

Antimicrobial activity of selected essential oils against selected pathogenic bacteria: In vitro study

The worldwide problem of infectious diseases has appeared in recent years, and an-timicrobial agents are crucial in reducing disease emergence. Nevertheless, the development and distribution of multidrug-resistant (MDR) strains in pathogenic bacteria, such as Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella Typhi and Citrobacter koseri, has become a major society health haz-ard. Essential oils could serve as a promising tool as a natural drug in fighting the problem with these bacteria. The current study aimed to investigate the antimicrobial effectiveness of tea tree (Melaleuca alternifolia (Maiden and Betche) Cheel), rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.), eucalyptus (Eucalyptus obliqua L’Hér.), and lavender (Lavandula angustifolia Mill) essential oils. The antimicrobial properties of essential oils were screened against four pathogenic bacteria, E. coli, S. aureus, S. Tyhpi, and C. koseri, and two reference bacterial strains, while for the testing, the agar well diffusion method was used. Gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography–mass spectrometric (GC–MSD) analyses were performed on essential oils. The obtained results showed that M. alternifolia essential oil is the richest in terpinen-4-ol, R. officinalis and E. oblique essential oils in 1,8-cineole, and L. angustifolia essential oil in α-terpinyl acetate. In addition, the main bioactive compounds present in the essential oil of tea tree are rich in α-pinene (18.38%), limonene (7.55%) and γ-terpinene (14.01%). The essential oil of rosemary is rich in α-pinene (8.38%) and limonene (11.86%); eucalyptus essential oil has significant concentrations of α-pinene (12.60%), p-cymene (3.24%), limonene (3.87%), and γ-terpinene (7.37%), while the essential oil of lavender is rich in linalool (10.71%), linalool acetate (9.60%), α-terpinyl acetate (10.93%), and carbitol (13.05%) bioactive compounds, respectively. The obtained results from the in vitro study revealed that most of the essential oils exhibited antimicrobial properties. Among the tested essential oils, tea tree was discovered to demonstrate the strongest antimicrobial activity. The recorded MIC of S. Typhi was 6.2 mg/mL, 3.4 mg/mL of C. koseri, 3.1 mg/mL of E. coli, and 2.7 mg/mL of E. coli ATCC 25922, compared to M. alternifolia. Similarly, only S. aureus ATCC 25923 showed antimicrobial activity towards R. officinalis (1.4 mg/mL), E. oblique (2.9 mg/mL), and L. angustifolia (2.1 mg/mL). Based on the obtained results, it is possible to conclude that tea tree essential oil might be used as an ecological antimicrobial in treating infectious diseases caused by the tested pathogens

A Simple Takagi-Sugeno Fuzzy Modelling Case Study for an Underwater Glider Control System

this paper is a section of several preliminaryvstudies versus the realization of Underwater Drones of the Università degli Studi “Roma Tre” Science Department: we describe an application of Takagi-Sugeno fuzzy logic modelling to the longitudinal control for the underwater glider in order to simplify the calculation effort

Comparison between Routing Protocols for Wide Archeological Site

The paper shows a comparison between three routing protocols for WSN. The protocols are conceived for particular scenario easily findable in archeological site and take into account energy consumptions and robustness of the transmission. This study will show which of the three protocols better meets the needs of this particular scenario