Dissipation of Pendimethalin in Soybean Crop Under Field Conditions

Pendimethalin induces apoptotic cell death through activating ER stress-mediated mitochondrial dysfunction in human umbilical vein endothelial cells

Pendimethalin is globally registered for control of a wide range of weeds in agriculture and home landscaping. Human exposure to pendimethalin can occur by the oral route through food and other sources. Endothelial function is vital to numerous biological processes, and endothelial dysfunction and poor vascular health is associated with increased atherosclerotic events; however, no study has yet investigated the potential effect of pendimethalin on endothelial function and vasculature formation. The objective of the current study is to investigate if pendimethalin may affect the viability and function of vascular endothelial cells. We observed that pendimethalin significantly repressed viability of human endothelial cells, inducing G1 cell cycle arrest and apoptotic/necrotic cell death. Pendimethalin treatment also activated ER stress and autophagy, leading to loss of mitochondrial membrane potential. In addition, pendimethalin impaired the tube forming and migratory abilities of endothelial cells. This study provides previously unrecognized adverse effects of pendimethalin in vascular endothelial cells, mediated by ER stress-induced mitochondrial dysfunction.

Residue Behavior of Clopyralid Herbicide in Soil and Sugar Beet Crop under Subtropical Field Conditions

ABSTRACT

Sugar beet is a major crop for the sugar industry. With growing awareness of unsystematic use of pesticides, health problem, and environmental issues, assessment of pesticide residues in soil and crops has become necessary. Studies of subtropical conditions on dissipation and residue analysis of clopyralid have not yet been reported. Therefore, dissipation kinetics and terminal residues of clopyralid for two cropping seasons in the soil and the sugar beet crop were studied under field conditions. An experiment was laid out in a randomized block design, and a herbicide was applied as a postemergent. Clopyralid was extracted from the matrix by basic water, subjected to solid phase extraction cleanup, and quantified by high-pressure liquid chromatography-UV. The method was validated, and recovery percentage of pesticide ranged from 81 to 88, 77 to 85, 78 to 86, and 89 to 94% in the soil, sugar beet roots, sugar beet leaves, and water, respectively. After application in the soil, clopyralid dissipated rapidly following monophasic first-order kinetics, with a half-life of 13.39 days. Limits of detection and quantitation were 0.007 and 0.02 μg g-1, respectively. Clopyralid does not persist long in soil, and residues were below the European Union's maximum residue levels (0.5 mg kg-1) in the roots and leaves of sugar beet. Residues were also not detected in the groundwater. It can be concluded that clopyralid could be considered a safe herbicide from the environmental aspect due to its nonpersistence and that it would not have an adverse effect on human or animal health.

HIGHLIGHTS

Elimination of Pendimethalin in Integrated Rice and Procambarus clarkii Breeding Models and Dietary Risk Assessments

This study investigated elimination of the herbicide pendimethalin using an integrated rice and Procambarus clarkii breeding model of indoor and outdoor (pond culture) exposure tests. The pendimethalin levels in 484 samples from the primary rice and P. clarkii integrated breeding areas in Hubei province were monitored, and dietary risk assessments of pendimethalin were calculated. Pendimethalin was quantified using high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry, and detection levels were linear in the range of 1.0 to 10.0 μg/L, and peak areas were positively correlated with concentration, with a correlation coefficient of 0.9996. Recoveries ranged from 86.9 to 103.5%, and the limit of quantitation was 2.5 × 10⁻⁴ μg/L in water, and 1 × 10⁻² μg/kg in tissues, sediments, and waterweeds. The dissipation rate of pendimethalin in tissues and water followed first-order kinetics, with half-lives of 0.51–5.64 d. In 484 samples taken from aquaculture farms, pendimethalin was detected in 8.67% of the samples at levels in the range of 1.95 to 8.26 μg/kg in Hubei province from 2018 to 2020. The maximum residue limit of pendimethalin in P. clarkii has not been established in China, but our dietary risk assessments indicated that consumption of P. clarkii from integrated rice farms was acceptable.

Degradation of Fenoxaprop-p-Ethyl and Its Metabolite in Soil and Wheat Crops

The dissipation kinetics of fenoxaprop-p-ethyl and its metabolite (fenoxaprop acid) at two application rates under wheat field conditions for two seasons was investigated. Herbicides were extracted by solid liquid extraction, cleaned up, and analyzed by a liquid chromatography-UV detector. Dissipation followed first-order kinetics; in soil, fenoxaprop-p-ethyl dissipated rapidly with an average half-life of 1.45 to 2.30 days, while fenoxaprop acid persisted for more than 30 days. The method was validated in terms of accuracy, linearity, specificity, and precision. Linearity was in the range of 5 to 5,000 ng, with a limit of detection (LOD) of 2 and 1 ng for fenoxaprop-p-ethyl and fenoxaprop acid, respectively. The quantitation limits in soil, grain, and straw were 5, 8, and 10 ng g^-1 for fenoxaprop-p-ethyl and 5, 10, and 10 ng g^-1 for fenoxaprop acid, respectively. Recovery in soil, grains, and straw ranged from 85.1 to 91.25%, 72.5 to 84.66%, and 77.64 to 82.24% for fenoxaprop-p-ethyl and 80.56 to 86.5%, 78 to 81.88%, and 75.2 to 79.68% for fenoxaprop acid, respectively. At harvest, no detectable residues of fenoxaprop-p-ethyl or acid were observed in soil, wheat grain, and straw samples. Owing to the short persistence under field conditions, fenoxaprop-p-ethyl is safe for use because parent and metabolite residues were below the European Union maximum residue limit and would not pose an adverse effect on the environment and human or animal foods.

Effect of repeated application of pendimethalin on its persistence and dissipation kinetics in soil under field and laboratory conditions

The repeated application of herbicide can alter its persistence in the environment. In India, wheat fields are exposed to herbicide application at least once in the cropping season. The present study investigated the dissipation behavior of pendimethalin applied annually to a wheat field over four cropping seasons from 2012 to 2016. The dissipation studies were also conducted under laboratory conditions during 2015-2016. Pendimethalin from soil and wheat grain samples was extracted using matrix solid-phase dispersion and quantified using high-performance liquid chromatography and gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The average recoveries of pendimethalin from soil and crop produce ranged from 81.3% to 103.1%. The half-life of pendimethalin ranged from 20.9 to 31.3 days and 9.4 to 60.2 days under field and laboratory conditions, respectively. Dissipation of pendimethalin varied significantly over the years under field conditions and was comparatively faster than under laboratory conditions. On the other hand, non-significant variation in the dissipation of pendimethalin in soils under laboratory conditions was observed. The residues of pendimethalin in crop produce at harvest were below the maximum residue limit set by EPA.

Kinetics of diuron under aerobic condition and residue analysis in sugarcane under subtropical field conditions

The phenylureas group includes persistent herbicides which are major pollutants to soil and water. Dissipation kinetics of diuron in different soils under sugarcane field conditions was investigated. Diuron was extracted with acetone and florisil solid phase extraction clean-up and characterized by high-performance liquid chromatography-UV. Diuron persisted for more than 100 days and dissipation followed monophasic first-order kinetics. Persistence was more in sandy loam compared to silty clay loam soil. Half-life of diuron in silty clay loam soil was 22.57 and 32.37 days and in sandy loam was 28.35 and 43.93 days at 2 and 4 kg ha-1applications, respectively. Average recovery in soil, bagasse, leaf-straw and juice ranged from 75.95% to 84.20%, 80.15% to 89.35%, 77.46% to 86.19% and 81.88% to 92.68%, respectively. The quantitation limits for soil, bagasse, leaf-straw and juice were 0.01, 0.03, 0.04 μg g^-1 and 0.008 μg mL^-1, respectively. Application of diuron inhibited growth of soil microbes initially but they recovered later. At harvest, diuron residues were below maximum residue limits in all samples. The study revealed that under subtropical conditions, diuron is safe for use in weed management and would not pose any residual/environmental problem and that sugarcane crop could be used safe for human/animal consumption.

Behavior of Thiophanate Methyl and Propiconazole in Grape and Mango Fruits Under the Egyptian Field Conditions

This research aims at determining residues of thiophanate methyl and propiconazole in grape and mango fruits as an indication for their persistence in this environmental compartment. Fruit extracts were analyzed for thiophanate methyl using High Performance Liquid Chromatography and using Gas Chromatography Electron Capture Detector (GC/ECD), respectively. The results indicated that propiconazole had a less environmental impact since propiconazole had shorter residue half-lives which were 1.24 and 1.19 days in grape and mango fruits, respectively, while thiophanate methyl had half-lives of 2.49 and 2.64 days in mango and grape, respectively. The degradation rates of propiconazole in grape and mango fruits did not change significantly and neither did those of thiophanate methyl. According to the maximum residue level, the pre-harvest intervals of propiconazole were set to be 3 and 7 days for grape and mango fruits, respectively, and the pre-harvest intervals for thiophanate methyl were 15 days for both grape and mango fruits. Propiconazole was generally considered to be less hazardous to humans and will leave the environment less altered because of its faster degradation than that of thiophanate methyl.