Moth sex-pheromone biosynthesis is inhibited by the herbicide diclofop

Pheromones of nocturnal moths are derived from fatty acids produced as a result of the activity of acetyl-CoA carboxylase. This timely production is initiated in nocturnal moths by a tropic peptide, pheromone biosynthesis activating neuropeptide released into the hemolymph. In monocotyledonous plants, specific plastid acetyl-CoA carboxylase is inhibited by herbicides that target the eukaryotic form of the enzyme. We report evidence that these herbicides can also target pheromone biosynthesis by a moth, thereby implicating the acetyl-CoA carboxylase as a key regulatory enzyme in the pheromone biosynthetic pathway. These findings, whilst indicating the possible action of such herbicides on non-target organisms, also suggest a novel alternative method of insect pest management, which precludes sex-pheromone production and mating success, thereby reducing insect population growth.     

新型除草剂防除狼毒效果研究

应用中国科学院寒旱所研制的新型除草剂———43.2%'灭狼毒'超低容量制剂在狼毒盛花期采用1.05l/hm2的施药量叶面喷雾,可使受药狼毒的死亡率达到95%以上,死亡狼毒植株次年返青率不足1%,而且能有效抑制草地狼毒群落,促进禾本科牧草生长,对草地可食牧草和非靶标生物安全。     

A modified fluorometric method to quantify the concentration effect (pI50) of photosystem II-inhibiting herbicides

Chlorophyll fluorescence induction curves of isolated thylakoids were measured in the absence and in the presence of various concentrations of photosystem II-inhibiting herbicides. A mathematical program was applied to simulate the curves. Based on these simulated curves a new method is developed to determine the concentration effect (pI₅₀) of the herbicides. The results of the new method correspond well with reported values in the literature. The method is very convenient and time-saving.     

Herbicide options for effective weed management in dry direct-seeded rice under scented rice-wheat rotation of western Indo-Gangetic Plains

Farmers' participatory field trials were conducted at Madhuban, and Taraori, the two participatory experimental sites/locations of the Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA), a collaborative project of IRRI and CIMMYT in Karnal district of Haryana, India, during Kharif (wet season) 2010 and 2011. This research aimed to evaluate preemergence (PRE) and postemergence (POST) herbicides for providing feasible and economically viable weed management options to farmers for predominant scented rice varieties. Treatments with pendimethalin PRE fb bispyribac-sodium + azimsulfuron POST had lower weed biomass at 45 days after sowing (DAS). At Madhuban, highest grain yield of scented basmati rice (3.43 t ha⁻¹) was recorded with the sequential application of pendimethalin PRE fb bispyribac-sodium + azimsulfuron POST. However, at Taraori, yields were similar with pendimethalin or oxadiargyl PRE fb bispyribac-sodium and/or azimsulfuron POST. Applying oxadiargyl by mixing with sand onto flooded field was less effective than spray applications in non-flooded field. The benefit-cost ratio of rice crop was higher with herbicide treatments at both sites as compared with the non-treated weed-free check except single PRE and POST applications and sequential application of oxadiargyl PRE fb oxadiargyl PRE. In a separate experiment conducted at Nagla and Taraori sites, scented rice cultivars' ('CSR 30′ and 'Pusa 1121′) tolerance to three rates of azimsulfuron (15, 25, and 35 g ai ha⁻¹) was evaluated over two years (2010 and 2011). CSR 30 (superfine, scented) was more sensitive to higher rates (35 g ai ha⁻¹) of azimsulfuron as compared to Pusa 1121 (fine, scented). Crop injuries were 8 and 28% in case of CSR 30; 5 and 15% in Pusa 1121 when applied with azimsulfuron 25 and 35 g ai ha⁻¹, respectively. Azimsulfuron applied at 35 g ai ha⁻¹ reduced yield in both cultivars but in CSR 30 yield reduction was twofold (11.5%) as that of Pusa 1121 (5.2%).     

Nanostructured liquid crystalline particle assisted delivery of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid to weeds,crops and model plants

Routine agricultural practices are heavily dependent on the use of surfactants, many of which are toxic to humans and detrimental to the environment. In proof of concept work we have previously shown the potential of nanostructured liquid crystalline particles (NLCP) to safely interact with plant leaf cuticular surfaces with minimal impact on epicuticular waxes. Here we demonstrate the use of NLCP to effectively deliver the auxin herbicide 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) to plant leaves in laboratory and field studies. In the laboratory, the physiological stress responses of lupin, Lupinus angustifolius (L.) (Fabaceae) towards NLCP spray applications were shown to be much reduced in comparison with application of two common surfactants. Phytotoxicity assays of 2,4-D loaded NLCP were used to validate the herbicidal effects on Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynth. (Brassicaceae) and established a similarity with that of surfactant assisted 2,4-D delivery when tested at a concentration of 0.1%. Field trials were conducted to test the efficacy of NLCP-assisted delivery of 2,4-D in comparison with commercial surfactants for the control of the invasive weed wild radish, Raphanus raphanistrum (L.) (Brassicaceae), in wheat, Triticum aestivum (L.) (Poaceae) crop fields. Compared against Estercide 800, a commercially available 2,4-D formulation, NLCP assisted delivery of 2,4-D was effective at low concentrations of 0.03% and 0.06%. The crop yield remained similar for all the tested concentrations and formulations of 2,4-D loaded NLCP and Estercide 800. This is the first report to directly show that, as an alternative to conventional methods, NLCP can be used under both laboratory and field conditions to successfully delivery an agrochemical.     

化学除草剂对改培型生物防火林带土壤理化性质及防火效果的影响

以试点中的黑龙江省改培型生物防火林带阻隔系统工程为依托,以可燃物载量为指标,探讨了除草剂对改培型生物防火林带土壤理化性质及防火效果的影响。结果表明:施用除草剂(森草净)后,改培型生物防火林带阻隔体系可燃物载量大幅减少,可有效地阻隔地表火的蔓延,减缓高强度林火的蔓延速度,且3 a后该建带方法未对土壤物理性质产生显著影响。     

玉米单倍体加倍方法研究进展

主要综述了近年来玉米单倍体加倍方法的最新研究进展。自然加倍法和以秋水仙素及除草剂为加倍剂的化学加倍法是人们研究较多的加倍方法。     

谷子抗除草剂基因的发现及其应用

谷子田间除草一直是阻碍谷子产业化发展的主要因素之一。谷子抗除草剂品种的出现,解决了谷子田间除草难的问题,有利于谷子大面积的栽培,使谷子产业化发展成为可能。本文围绕谷子抗除草剂基因的发现、类型和机理以及抗除草剂品种在谷子生产中的应用情况等方面进行阐述,探讨谷子抗除草剂应用对环境的影响,并对谷子抗除草剂研究中存在的问题及应用前景进行了展望。     

A laboratory investigation of the release of a conservative tracer and herbicide from topsoil aggregates under varying rainfall intensities

Abstract. This paper describes the results of laboratory-based research which investigated the losses of the herbicide, isoproturon, and a non-adsorbing solute, bromide, from topsoil aggregates under high (7 mm h⁻¹ and low 2.7 mm h⁻¹) intensity simulated rainfall. The structures of the micro- and macro-aggregates from a clay soil of the Denchworth Series (from Wytham, Oxfordshire, UK) were observed using a scanning electron microscope, and the slaking of the topsoil aggregates was also investigated in order to provide a context for interpreting the experimental results. The topsoil at Wytham was found to have a bimodal structure with small microaggregates of 0.71 to 1 mm diameter clustered together to form larger macroaggregates of up to several centimetres diameter. Selected aggregates were air dried and then repacked in Buchner funnels to several centimetres depth in order to remove variability in the experimental results due to the effects of surface microrelief. Under saturated surface conditions high intensity simulated rainfall was less efficient at removing both non-adsorbing and adsorbing solutes from the repacked topsoil aggregates than low intensity rainfall. The observed decrease in the concentration of isoproturon and bromide in the leachate with time could be explained by a transport non-equilibrium effect.     

Effects of preemergence and postemergence herbicides on urea hydrolysis and nitrification of urea nitrogen in soil

The influence of 5 and 50 mg active ingredient kg^-1 soil of nine preemergence and nine postemergence herbicides on transformations of urea N in soil was studied in samples of two coarse-textured and two fine-textured soils incubated aerobically at 20°C. The effects of each herbicide on soil urea transformations was measured by determining the amounts of urea hydrolyzed and the amounts of NO _inf3 ^sup- and NO _inf2 ^sup- produced at various times after treatment with urea. Applied at the rate of 5 mg active ingredient kg^-1 soil, none of the herbicides retarded urea hydrolysis in the four soils used, but four of the postemergence herbicides (acifluorfen, diclofop methyl, fenoxaprop ethyl) retarded urea hydrolysis in the two coarse-textured soils. All the herbicides tested except siduron retarded nitrification in the two coarse-textured soils when applied at 50 mg of urea N active ingredient kg^-1 soil, and fenoxaprop ethyl and tridiphane markedly retarded nitrification of urea N in all four of the soils when applied at this rate. One-way analysis of variance and correlation analyses indicated that the inhibitory effects of the 18 herbicides tested on nitrification of urea N in soil increased with a decrease in the organic-matter content and an increase in the sand content of the soil. Present address: Department of Soil and Environmental Sciences, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, USA