Nano-selenium enhances sugarcane resistance to Xanthomonas albilineans infection and improvement of juice quality.

Selenium is an important trace element that is beneficial to human health and can enhance plant resistance and crop quality. The occurrence of up-to-date nanotechnology greatly promotes the beneficial efficiency of this trace element on crops. The discovery of nano-Se increased the crop quality and reduced plant disease in different plant. In this study, we reduced sugarcane leaf scald disease incidence by exogenously spraying different concentrations (5 mg/L and 10 mg/L) of nano-Se. Additional studies revealed that spraying of nano-Se reduced reactive oxygen species (ROS) and H2O2 accumulation, and increased antioxidant enzyme activities in sugarcane. The nano-selenium treatments also increased the content of jasmonic acid (JA) and the expression of JA pathway genes. Furthermore, we also found that use nano-Se treatment in an appropriate way can enhance the quality of cane juice. The brix of the cane juice of the selenium-enriched treatment was significantly higher than that of the control group, which was 10.98% and 20.81% higher than that of the CK group, respectively. Meanwhile, the content of certain beneficial amino acids was increased, with the highest being 3.9 times higher than the control. Taken together, our findings inferred that nano-Se could act as a potential eco-fungicide to protect sugarcane from can be used as a potential ecological bactericide to protect sugarcane from Xanthomonas albilineans infections, and improve sugarcane quality. The results arising from this study not only introduces an ecological method to control X. albilineans, but also provides a deep insight into this trace elements for improving juice quality.

Evaluation of Self-Propelled High-Energy Ultrasonic Atomizer on Azoxystrobin and Tebuconazole Application in Sunlit Greenhouse Tomatoes.

In this study, a self-propelled high-energy ultrasonic atomizer was evaluated in terms of deposition on the canopy, the loss to the ground, and fungicide residues in cherry tomato and tomato. Artificial collectors fixed to the upper side and underside of the leaves at different depths and heights were used to collect the depositions. A reliable analytical method for determination of azoxystrobin and tebuconazole in artificial collectors and residue samples was developed by using liquid chromatography triple-quadrupole mass spectrometry. The results showed that the atomizer distributed the droplets evenly throughout the greenhouse with good uniformity (CVs below 39%). The ratio of depositions on the internal and external sides was 66⁻83%, and the ratio of depositions on the underside and upper side was 39⁻50%. There were no significant differences in depositions between two different height crops. The residues of azoxystrobin and tebuconazole in tomato and cherry tomato fruits were far below the maximum residue limits at harvest time. In general, self-propelled high-energy ultrasonic atomizer used in a greenhouse could increase the depositions, especially on the underside and internal side of the canopies, and lead to a reduction of operator exposure risk.

Residue dynamics of procymidone in leeks and soil in greenhouses by smoke generator application.

A modified QuEChERS-GC-MS method for analysis of procymidone residue in leeks and soil was developed and validated. Procymidone residue dynamics and residues in supervised field trials at GAP conditions in leeks and soil in greenhouses were studied. Leek samples were treated under microwave radiation for 1min before homogenization, followed by extracting with acetonitrile and clean-up with reverse solid phase dispersion by primary and secondary amine (PSA). Procymidone residue was determined by GC-MS in selected ion monitoring (SIM) mode. At fortification levels of 0.02, 0.2 and 2mg/kg in leeks and soil, it was shown that recoveries ranged from 74.9% to 100.8% with relative standard deviations of 1.3-8.5%. At four geographical experimental plots, procymidone residue in leeks and soil showed a relatively fast dissipation rate, with half-lives of 4.52-8.76 days for leeks and 3.76-5.65 days for soil. At pre-harvest intervals of 21-30 days, procymidone residue ranged from 0.033 to 0.17mg/kg in leeks, and 0.020-1.75mg/kg in soil. Residues persistence varied in leeks and soil in four field trials, suggesting that it might be affected by some physical and chemical factors, growth dilution factor, soil characteristics and microorganisms.

A 50-years record of dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethanes and hexachlorocyclohexanes in lake sediments and penguin droppings on King George Island, Maritime Antarctic.

Since the ban on the use of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) such as dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane (DDT) and hexachlorocyclohexane(HCH) in agriculture, their levels have generally dropped. In a number of cases, however, the levels of these OCPs were found to be unchanging or even increasing after the ban. With the aim to unveil the possible causes of these exceptions, we collected two lake cores from King George Island, West Antarctica, and determined their accumulation flux profiles and temporal trends of these OCPs. In the lake core sediments with glacier meltwater input, the accumulation flux of DDT shows an abnormal peak around 1980s in addition to the expected one in 1960s. In the lake core sediments without glacier meltwater input, the accumulation flux of DDT shows a gradual decline trend after the peak in 1960s. This striking difference in the DDT flux profiles between the two lake cores is most likely caused by the regional climate warming and the resulted discharge of the DDT stored in the Antarctic ice cap into the lakes in the Antarctic glacier frontier. Furthermore, to investigate the change of OCPs loadings in the Antarctic coastal ecosystem, we reconstructed the HCH and DDT concentration profiles in penguin droppings and observed a gradual increase for the former and a continuous decrease for the latter during the past 50 years. The increase of HCH seems to be due to the regional warming from the early 1970s and the resulted HCH discharge to the coastal ecosystem by glaciers' meltwater and the illegal use of HCH in the Southern Hemisphere in the recent decade. Thedifferent temporal trends of HCH and DDT accumulation rate in the lake core with glacier meltwater input and the aged penguin droppings can be explained by their different water-soluble property.

[Determination of 15 organophosphorus pesticides in cucumber, tomato and pepper samples by capillary gas chromatography with gel permeation chromatographic clean-up].

Fifteen organophosphorus pesticide residues in vegetable samples were extracted and cleaned-up by gel permeation chromatography and detected by capillary GC-FPD. An alternative validation method was established based on GC-NPD detection on an HP-1701 column. The eluting profiles of 15 compounds on a gel permeation column (10 mm i.d. x 200 mm, SX-3) eluted by 1 mL/min cyclohexane-ethyl acetate (volume ratio of 1:1) were established according to GC quantitation. Minimum detection limits of this method were between 5 x 10(-4) mg/kg to 5 x 10(-3) mg/kg. The average fortified recoveries and coefficients of variation of the method were determined. The results show that recoveries are between 77.8%-106%, with an average RSD of 0.10%-16.6%.